PebbleCreek Singers to Begin Rehearsals
Diane Piehl
The long hot summer is winding down, and it’s time to think about all the Performing Arts Programs to be enjoyed as we kick off the busy time of year in PebbleCreek. The PebbleCreek Singers will begin rehearsals for their holiday concert on Wednesday, Sept. 9 beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Renaissance Theater, under the direction of Interim Director Bev Griggs.
If you love to sing and enjoy community, join the PebbleCreek Singers for uplifting music, friendship, and fun! All voices are welcome. Rehearsals are on Mondays in the Renaissance Theater beginning at 1:30 p.m. Additional rehearsals will be scheduled as we near concert dates. Reach out to Virginia Baker at 623-248-6323 for more information. Be on stage with us for the holiday concert!
Just in case you want to mark your calendars, the holiday concert dates are Dec. 2-5, with Dec. 5 being a 2 p.m. matinee. The community seemed to appreciate the opportunity for an afternoon performance, as the spring concert matinee was well attended.
Dave Silverstein and his banjo on Open
Mic Night
Meet the VP of PebbleCreek Open Mic: David Silverstein
Dave Silverstein is one of the founders of PebbleCreek Open Mic and serves as the club’s vice president. You may also know him through his many contributions to PebbleCreek’s performing arts groups. Dave chairs the Performing Arts Council, which brings together the four resident performing groups—ShowTime, PC Players, PC Singers, and PC Musicians—to publicize events and work with the HOA to make improvements to the Renaissance Theater and help with its maintenance. Also, he is the current Secretary of PC Musicians.
Dave is a familiar face on stage as well. A performer who sings and plays the banjo, he is part of the folk group The Desert Rovers and has been a member of ShowTime since 2010 when he appeared in Take Me Back, a musical revue. After that his love of folk music inspired him to create and direct three ShowTime productions: This Land is Your Land, which told the story of the American folk music revival and We’ll Sing in the Sunshine, about the musicians and singers who performed every Sunday in New York City’s Washington Square Park. He is currently directing ShowTime’s upcoming fall production, a revue he wrote about The Bitter End, New York’s oldest rock venue which opened in 1961 and is still going strong. (Look for Where Legends Began in November.)
So you play the banjo, Dave? What inspired you at a time when your friends must have been strumming guitars? “I got started playing the banjo in high school,” Dave explained. “I fell in love with folk music when I first heard the folk group The Weavers; I was highly influenced by the banjo playing of Pete Seeger. That motivated me to pursue the banjo. I was about 16 years old then and I played a lot through high school and college until work got in the way.”
Dave had two full time jobs during his career. He taught elementary school in the Bronx, N.Y., for 18 years and followed that with another 16 years in administration. He also owned and operated a children’s summer day camp in Westchester County, N.Y., for 32 years and continued as a consultant and mentor to the new owners after he sold it. Directing camp was a huge responsibility, he said, and although it lasts only eight weeks in the summer, recruiting campers and training staff, working on capital projects, purchasing equipment, planning the programs and special events and more all went on throughout the year. He also volunteered for the American Camp Association and was honored with their Distinguished Service Award for exemplary leadership. “I worked at camps for almost 60 years. It was my passion,” Dave said.
Dave and wife Ann discovered PebbleCreek while vacationing in Sedona. They visited the community and were sold on the wonderful community and all PC has. “It was an easy choice,” he said. The couple made PC their permanent home in 2011.
Dave is proud of the reception Open Mic has received. The new club has grown from its beginnings a year ago to about filling the Eagle’s Nest Ballroom where participants perform now. There are so many talented people in PebbleCreek. Dave is very upbeat about providing an opportunity for them to showcase their talents in a welcoming environment where the audiences cheer them on and everyone has great fun.
Dave notes that PebbleCreek Open Mic nights are once a month, usually on a Friday evening, in the Eagle’s Nest Ballroom. For a small cover charge of $5 get your hand stamped beginning at 5:30 p.m. for the 6 p.m. show. Open seating lets you choose your favorite spot to have a fun Friday night. There is a cash bar available and food from the Eagle’s Nest restaurant is also welcome in the ballroom. Dave reminds everyone that the next Open Mic night is Aug. 21.
Please go to the PebbleCreek Open Mic website for the month’s performer line-up or to sign yourself up to perform! Check it all out, whether you will be performing or part of the audience. https://sites.google.com/view/pebblecreekopenmic/home