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Portsmouth Community Concerts: GQ (Gentleman’s Quartet) ~ Instrumental Quartet with Guest Female Vocalist (Portsmouth)
May 1 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
$25The mission of Portsmouth Community Concerts is to promote appreciation for the performing arts by presenting a series of diverse concerts by professional artists from the nation and the world and by providing educational opportunities to students.
GQ (Gentlemen’s Quartet) is a modern, elegant take on some of the most famous music ever written, fusing together multiple genres in a perfect symphony of sophistication, virtuosity, and humor. GQ features Peter Sachon on cello & mandocello, Matt Scharfglass on guitars & bass, Ben Saporito on drums & percussion and David Shenton on piano & violin. These four musicians have collectively performed over 10,000 shows and counting. These performances include working on Broadway, The West End, and with acclaimed artists such as Vanessa Williams, Dee Snyder, Audra McDonald, James Taylor, Pink Martini, Pinchas Zukerman, André Previn, Renee Fleming, The NY Rangers house band, Marilyn Maye, The Manhattan Transfer, Paul McCartney, and many, many others. The gentlemen have also performed with major symphony orchestras and at festivals around the globe.
GQ offers the audience a new, often deeper, way of listening to music, that is to say music that has proven to be timeless but has been reinvigorated by the use of clever arrangements. For example, their rendition of “All of Me” by John Legend features the fusing together of a Chopin “Nocturne,” Elgar’s“ Cello Concerto,” Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” and Michael Nyman’s “The Piano.” The audience can listen to each selection and enjoy the familiar tunes, easily following along as they listen. But, if the audience wants to listen more closely, on a deeper level, they will be informed, ahead of time, of the many other elements that go into every arrangement to give them a unique listening experience, as follows: Guitar: “All of Me” melody, Piano left hand: Chopin, Piano Right hand: Michael Nyman, Cello countermelody: Elgar.
It is by developing these new and unique arrangements that GQ sets itself apart from every other group. It is a testament to the versatility and unlimited possibilities of imagination of the musical language, how music from centuries apart can be brought together seamlessly and effortlessly to produce arrangements that are accessible, beautiful, and cerebral.
