Piqua Arts Council’s Holiday Concert moves online

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PIQUA — The Piqua Arts Council will be offering their Sounds of the Season Concert for free.

This year’s event will be a virtual concert with regional performers singing from the comfort of their own homes. The video will be available on the Piqua Arts Council’s YouTube channel on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 5 p.m. and a link will also be posted on the Piqua Arts Council’s Facebook page. This year’s performers will be Allison Babylon, Jimmy Felts, Jamie Suttle, Quintessential Winds and Clark Manson all performing holiday themed music during the concert.

“We’ve been evaluating this concert for a few years and we think next year there might be some changes to the way we do it,” Piqua Arts Council Executive Director Jordan Knepper said. “For this year, we’re going to do the event virtually because of COVID. But we’re still going to have some of the region’s best performers involved this year.”

Babylon started singing and playing guitar when she was 14 years old. Playing in bars and local festivals turned into a chance on American Idol in 2017 and a special appearance at Rock Piqua that year. Her music career has been set to the side, but not forgotten as she attends college at Edison State Community College for nursing and works at Dayton Children’s. In her free time, she enjoys working out and is working towards opening a new gym, Kings Barbell in Troy next year.

At 10 years old Felts saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show and knew then that he wanted to make his living playing guitar. By 12 he started his first band. At 18, he joined The Yearsley Brothers Blues Band playing all over Ohio. By 21, he studied under jazz guitarist Sandy DeVito for 2 years in Seminole, Florida. Throughout this time he also played as a solo act in local pubs and coffee houses in the Tampa Bay area. His career continued to expand as he returned to Ohio, playing as a solo act for some time, teaching guitar and starting a dance band called Special Edition. He formed his first of three trios all under the name Nite Shift, playing four to six nights a week. During this time, he taught guitar at Lively Music in Piqua five days a week for 13 years. He then moved on to Sound City Music in Troy five days a week for 16 years, averaging 55 students a week. He went on to work with a great band called Main Event. After that, he was very fortunate to work every Saturday night for two years with the great jazz guitarist Kent Burnside at Captains Point in Lakeview.

He currently teaches three days a week from his personal studio and has been blessed to be doing this now for over 40 years.

Suttle sang in church. As she grew, it flourished under the sweltering heat of soul, R&B, and rock, all the while being suffused with gospel and classic country music.

Suttle’s music pays homage to classic country music while effortlessly creating her own style. While playing shows with people like Ashley McBryde, Lee Brice, Tyler Farr, the Kentucky Headhunters and Shooter Jennings, Jamie’s knack of blending soul with heartfelt lyrics provides a connection with her audience that cannot be broken. Suttle’s newest single, “Pissed Off and Reckless” was released, April 24 and can be found on iTunes, Spotify and more.

Quintessential Winds was established in 2011 and is a traditional woodwind quintet consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, French Horn and bassoon. They offer a wide range of programs to satisfy diverse audiences from classical music lovers, popular, jazz/blues and bubbling humor. The group is made up of Deb Powers, Tamela Tennison, Michael Houser, Julie Swank and Linda Reitman. Deb Powers is their oboe player and a physics instructor at University of Dayton. Tamela Tennison is the owner of “Tennison Family Farm”, Music Resource Group and the President of the Piqua Civic Band in addition to being the flute player for Quintessential Winds, Mystic Winds and 2 Four U. Michael Houser is an adjunct faculty member at Edison State Community College as well as an online facilitator for PBS TeacherLine in addition to playing the clarinet in this group. Julie Swank is a music educator at Northmont City Schools and plays the French Horn for Quintessential Winds. Linda Reithman is the bassoonist for the group and is also a librarian at the Centerville Library.

A small town in Ohio and a guitar are the ingredients that make up Manson. It all began when Manson was a 12-year-old. A hand-me-down guitar caught Manson’s eye, so he picked it up and a few months (and several country concerts) later, he knew he had found his calling. Fast-forward some years later and Manson began playing bar shows while attending school. Soon the shows began to spread farther and farther from his college, but nothing could take the “hometown” out of him. Writing and co-producing all of his own music today, Manson resides back in his hometown with his wife and their children. The catalogue of Manson reads like a well written novel from his young rowdy beginnings, to growing into the loving husband and father he is today. June of 2020 has brought with it a new music with his EP – “Lotta Bout You” which is available on iTunes, Spotify, and more.

“This really is a special holiday concert,” continued Knepper. “We’ve had some amazing performers over the years and this year is no exception. Last year’s performances can be viewed on our YouTube page before the concert and provide and excellent sample of holiday music.”

More information can be found on the Piqua Arts Council’s webpage or by reaching out to them at 937-773-9630.

Allison Babylon
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2020/12/web1_Allison-Babylon.jpgAllison Babylon

Clark Manson
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2020/12/web1_Clark-Manson.jpgClark Manson

Jamie Suttle
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2020/12/web1_Jamie-Suttle.jpgJamie Suttle

Jimmy Felts
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2020/12/web1_Jimmy-Felts.jpgJimmy Felts

Quintessential Winds
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2020/12/web1_Quintessential-Winds.jpgQuintessential Winds

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