I'm pleased to announce that, after 10 years (and 2 variations on the theme) of a recurring concert series at The Mainstay, I'm not finished yet. I've accepted 6 dates of (personal) insanity in 2026, to continue presenting a guest artist-focused series of collaborative shows. And this first one will be special, indeed.

In recent years, thanks to my friend Sharon Sable, I've become acquainted with a number of Wilmington, DE based musicians, among them, Gus Mercante, a wonderful countertenor from the classical world. It has now been a few years since I first had the inspiration to curate a show that features Gus, alongside of Lester Barrett. Lester is also a countertenor, and a local legend in Kent County, MD (where the Mainstay is located), coming from the gospel and (broadly speaking) soul worlds. 

A recurring theme in my Mainstay shows has been to bring musicians together whose paths would likely never intersect otherwise. This can create a unique one-of-a-kind experience for both the performers and the audience. There have been other occasions that I've integrated the classical and non-classical worlds on stage at the Mainstay. In 2017, I invited Celine Molginecki, a featured soloist for Chestertown's National Music Festival, to join me to  discover what common ground we could find and create (we ended up presenting a collaborative Mainstay Monday show for 3 consecutive years). In 2019, I invited both members of the classical music piano faculty at Washington College to join me, playing jazz/classical mash-ups with Matt Brower, and performing the (entire) original 2 piano score for Rhapsody in Blue with Woobin Park. Most recently, I invited area classical pianist Stephanie Lamott to join me for a holding hands across the (perceived) divide First Friday show. And now this one, on 2/20/26, "The Clash of the Countertenors", where I get to accompany a broad variety of music across the stylistic spectrum. 

For reasons beyond anyone's control, this show had to wait until now. Which, honestly, is one of the reasons I'm glad I still have a series at the Mainstay. I'm grateful that this show can finally happen. I hope you can join us, at least for the livestream, if not in person.  :)