Gate House Concert Series Has Returned

SOUTHBURY — Thanks to a budget allowance for the fourth consecutive summer, Southbury Training School will be hosting a 2003 Gate House Café Concerts series. The series began in the summer of 2000 under a proposal written by Meg Capen and Julie Andring Morgan, music therapists for Southbury Training School. Renewal of the budget was again contingent upon the success of the third year.

This year’s series opened on June 10 with a concert by Willie Nininger. Concerts will be held the second and fourth Tuesday evening from June through August, and also on the occasional Sunday afternoon. Evening concerts will run from 6:30 to 8:30, while the afternoon shows will be performed form 3 to 5 pm. Admission to all concerts is free.

Concerts are performed near Gate House Café, on Route 172 near the training school’s power plant; signs will be posted. In the event of rain, concerts will move under the café’s nearby pavilion.

The series will resume on Tuesday, July 8, with Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem, performing harmonious, melodious, groove delicious string music. The western Massachusetts based band spins an energetic combo of original-folk pop and funky Appalachian roots music with its four-part harmonies and on a 100 percent recycled drum kit. The band is touring to celebrate the June 2003 release of its new CD, Gambling Eden, which was produced by master cajum and old-time musician Dirk Powell.

The season then continues on Tuesday, July 22 with vocal and guitar, contemporary folk/pop duo Leslie Rigger and Scott Petito; Sunday, July 27 with original folk singer-songwriter and former CT State troubadour Kevin Briody; Sunday, August 3 with Thomasina and special guest John Marshall, playing folk music with dulcimer and percussion; and Tuesday, August 12 with The Brubeck Brothers performing a mixture of classical and contemporary jazz music. The concert series will conclude on Tuesday, August 26. The performer is yet to be announced.

For information about the series or any of its concerts contact Meg Capen or Julie Andring Morgan in Southbury Training School’s music therapy department, 203-586-2144.