Culture
Peoples Bank Theatre Features Classical, Jazz and Film in August
< < Back toThe historic Peoples Bank Theatre in downtown Marietta, Ohio, features a variety of events in August, including classical and jazz concerts, as well as outdoor adventure films and the continuation of its series of monthly tours.
August 11, the theatre welcomes Marietta native composer and pianist Grisha Krivchenia for a special Stage Door Cabaret performance. With intimate seating on the stage of Peoples Bank Theatre, the evening includes of hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.
A graduate of Marietta High School, Krivchenia completed his studies at Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied piano with Sedmara Rutstein and composition with Jeffrey Mumford.
“When I play a solo recital, it’s an opportunity to choose the works that I find most exciting and compelling,” says Krivchenia. “This program pulls together some of my favorite music from the 18th century to the present. It includes the best work of time-tested composers: Bach, Schubert, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. And it includes original compositions, several of them written in 2016. I hope to show that Classical music is a living tradition, that great music is still being produced today, following in the footsteps of old masters.”
Krivchenia divides his time among Santa Fe, the Seattle area, and concert dates around the world. He enjoys a busy performance schedule, and his compositions are realized by professional ensembles throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Recent premieres have taken place in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Bucharest. Abundant Silence (Denver, Colorado) publishes his vocal and chamber music.
In 2007, Grisha founded the music program at Spring Street International School in Friday Harbor. He writes music with hospice patients, as a composer for Lifesongs in Santa Fe.
“This program is built from works that I played on tour of the Western US in May and June of this year,” Krivchenia adds. “ The works played well for audiences in Albuquerque, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and other cities. I know that Marietta will love the program also!”
August 12 and 13, Peoples Bank Theatre will fire up its projector during the Rivers, Trails and Ales Festival, with screenings of the 5Point Adventure Film Festival. The traveling film festival features a dozen of the best in outdoor documentary films. With breathtaking footage of outdoor adventurers kayaking off the steepest waterfalls, running along the highest ridgelines, climbing the steepest peaks, the 5Point Adventure Film Festival celebrates the human spirit of adventure through film. Screenings take place Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.
The following weekend, on August 20 at 8 p.m., The Bob Thompson Band will perform on the Peoples Bank Theatre stage.
Since 1991 Bob Thompson has been the house pianist and a regularly featured artist on West Virginia’s NPR syndicated radio show, Mountain Stage. For the past 23 years he has also been co-producer and host of Joy to the World, a holiday jazz show, broadcast on public radio stations nationwide, and heard internationally on the voice of America. In October 2015, Bob Thompson was inducted into the West Virginia music hall of fame.
Thompson makes his home in Charleston, West Virginia, and has enjoyed a long and active career as a performer, composer, arranger, and educator. For decades he has played at festivals and venues around the country, and has also taken his music to Europe, Africa, and South America.
“When I’m on a big stage, I just treat it like I’m in a bar somewhere,” Thompson says. “The kind of connection with the audience I like happens a lot when we’re playing in a small club, and that carries over when we get into a larger venue.”
Music education is also very important to Thompson. He continues teaching a few private students and doing occasional workshops at colleges and public schools.
“I love teaching because it gives me an opportunity to pass along the help that so many have given me along the way,” Thompson explains. “I am always thankful for this opportunity to do something in life that I truly love.”
The Mid Ohio Valley’s own Jess Baldwin will open for The Bob Thompson Band. Baldwin performed on Mountain Stage in 2013 with John A. Walsh’s The Fields of Gettysburg, won Best Cover Song in the 2015 Ohio Music Awards, and was a quarterfinalist in the 2015 American Traditions Competition. Among cover songs by modern artists like Alan Hampton, the Portico Quartet, and Esperanza Spalding, she peppers her own playful, yet contemplative jazz arrangements of pop-rock artists like Björk and Weezer, country artists like Gillian Welch, and classical composers like Barber and Bach. She is joined by an all-star cast of regional musicians: guitarist Ryan Kennedy, pianist Sean Parsons, bassist Andy McVey, and drummer Andy Hall.
The month concludes with a behind-the-scenes tour of the nearly century-old theatre on August 28. Conducted by Hidden Marietta Tour Company, participants will get to explore parts of the theatre seldom seen by the general public. The guided, one-hour tours will take place between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Space is limited, so reservations are required and may be made by calling 740-590-1987 or visiting hiddenmarietta.com.
Full event details and ticket information are available online at peoplesbanktheatre.com or by calling the box office at 304-371-5152. Walk-up hours at the box office are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday through Friday and two hours prior to most performances.
Located at 222 Putnam Street in historic downtown Marietta, Peoples Bank Theatre is managed by the nonprofit Hippodrome/Colony Historical Theatre Association.