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Pit Stop Players to Open 5th Season with Performance at Christ & Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church, 10/28

By: Sep. 10, 2013
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The Pit Stop Players, a fourteen-member instrumental ensemble composed of veteran Broadway pit musicians, launch their fifth season with a concert of Halloween-themed music at Christ & Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church, 120 West 69th Street, on Monday, October 28, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.

Founder and music director Joshua Rosenblum says, "This is a collection of great scary music from all genres, including unexpected re-imaginings and outrageous concert premieres. Be ready for some chills!"

The selections include themes from film (David Shire's score to George Romero's "Monkey Shines"), opera (Stephen Schwartz's "Seance on a Wet Afternoon"), TV (Danny Elfman's theme to "Tales From the Crypt"), musical theater (Rosenblum's overture to his forthcoming musical "The Haunted Hotel") and the concert hall (Kenji Bunch's "Arachnophobia").

WHAT: "The Pit Stop Players and the Pendulum"
WHEN: Monday, October 28, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Christ & Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church, 120 West 69th Street, New York, N.Y.
TICKETS: $25 ($15 for students); children in costume free; SmartTix ( http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=PIT7 ); or CASH ONLY at the door.
INFO: Pit Stop Players - http://rosenblummusic.com/pitstop.html .

In addition, the concert will feature the concert premiere of "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Nox Arcana, the self-described American Neoclassical darkwave/dark ambient musical duo, and "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals," by American composer/inventor Raymond Scott.

The Pit Stop Players, who collectively have played in pit orchestras for over 130 Broadway productions, include Steve Kenyon, Marc Phaneuf, and Don McGeen, woodwinds; Chris Jaudes, trumpet; Wayne Goodman, trombone; Dan Culpepper, horn; Robin Zeh and Paul Woodiel, violins; Alissa Smith, viola; Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf, cello; Grace Paradise, harp; Jeff Carney, bass; Gregory Landes, percussion; and Garah Landes, piano.

The Players will be wearing Halloween costumes, and audience members are encouraged to come dressed for the occasion as well.

The Pit Stop Players, founded in 2009 by conductor/composer Joshua Rosenblum, is a fourteen-member instrumental ensemble comprised of some of New York's top freelance musicians, commonly regarded as the best instrumentalists in the world. Repertoire includes arrangements and transcriptions of great pieces from the recent past (encompassing numerous genres), but the primary emphasis is on new compositions that are both challenging and immediately engaging, written and orchestrated specifically for the group by today's most exciting creative talents.

Since their first concert in February 2010, The Players have performed works by Bernstein, Ginastera, Shostakovich, John Psathas, William Bolcom, Danny Elfman, Paul McCartney, and Freddy Mercury, among others, as well as world premiere compositions by Steven Burke, David Chesky, Gary William Friedman, Jamie Lawrence, Fay Wang, Steve Kenyon, Josh Schmidt, and Michael Starobin. Other highlights have included the group's performance of "The Rite of Spring" in a specially-commissioned new chamber arrangement, as well as Rosenblum's own "Young Person's Guide to the Pit Stop Players," with special guest narrator Cynthia Nixon.

Cited by "The New York Times" for their "flair," "spirited readings," and "playfully cohesive programs," "making an hour-long serving of modern works not just palatable but enticing," the Pit Stop Players have take their place at the cutting edge of New York's cultural landscape, bringing exciting contemporary music to new audiences, and upending conventional assumptions about concert programming.



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