MAJIC Concert Series

MAJIC (Musical Arts for Justice in the Community) is proud to announce its sixth season! On the docket for 2012-2013:

October 12, 2012
Sunny Wilkinson, jazz vocalist, accompanied by pianist Ron Newman

In addition to over three decades of professional accomplishments and performances, Sunny has sung with music icons such as The Count Basie Orchestra, Rob McConell and the Boss Brass, Clark Terry, Mark Murphy, Milt Hinton, Curtis Fuller and many more. Her latest CD is a duo project featuring Los Angeles-based pianist Tom Garvin entitled “A Gentle Time – When Sunny Meets Tom.”  Worlds Records of Los Angeles writes: “The musical empathy that is shared by these two artists is truly extraordinary…Sunny Wilkinson is at the top of her game here. She has spent a lot of time refining her craft in the trenches and now emerges as a master songstress able to get inside of a song and find its essential emotional core.”

November 9, 2012
Potato Moon, a folk-rock band from Grand Rapids, Michigan, comprised of members of the Stancil family. Their primary influences include Mark Knopfler, James Taylor, The Band, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Waits, and Norah Jones. The band has been active for over a decade, performing in music festivals, weddings, area pubs, and charity events throughout West Michigan while producing five eclectic and highly acclaimed albums. Potato Moon has a huge following in the West Michigan music scene, and includes the following members:

Ben Stancil, songwriter, vocals, acoustic guitar and piano; Jane Steele, songwriter, vocals, piano; Laura Stancil (Lulu), vocals and synthesizer; Phil Stancil Sr., bass; Phil Stancil Jr., (Philzer), drums, percussion, electric guitar; Michael Sullivan (Midnight Jones), electric guitar; and Jimmy Schultz, drums and percussion.

November’s Visual Art will be provided by Paul Peterson, photographer.

December 14, 2012

Embellish, an area handbell group back by popular demand.

Join us as we “ring” in the Holidays with the sounds of handbells from this wonderful community ensemble! 

Embellish is the premier handbell ensemble of West Michigan, founded in 1995 as a professional level group that promotes the art of handbell ringing by providing a high quality musical experience for diverse audiences. Under the direction of Stephanie Wiltse since 1998, Embellish has performed both here in West Michigan and beyond, including tours in the mid-west, an international tour to France, a week-long tour to the East Coast as well as several shorter tours throughout Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Minnesota. 

December’s Visual Art will be provided by Alma Suarez.

January 11, 2013

Jukejoint Handmedowns has been described as a Big-Tent American-roots band who mixes country, bluegrass, jazz, pop and rock into an entertaining blend of toe-tappin’ honky-tonk fun. The group was founded in 2010 by Nathan James (guitar) and Tim Foley (upright bass), who met through a local monthly songwriter’s group and honed their original duo act on the streets of Holland via the Summer Street Performer Series. Paul Harris (pedal steel) joined the group in 2011 and Craig Van Otteren (mandolin) signed on in the spring of 2012. All of the members of the group started out on guitar at an early age and found their way to this musical genre and their respective instruments through widely varying and circuitous routes, but are all grateful to have crossed paths at this particular point in time. The group’s influences include Willie Nelson, The Band, Eagles & Hank Williams.

The JJHD boys love nothing more than playing to an energetic crowd of music fans whether it be at a black tie event, dinner club, backyard party or noisy barroom. A CD of original material was released in April of 2012 and the group is working on a follow up scheduled for release in 2013.

January’s Visual Art will be provided by Joel Howell

February 8, 2013

Minsoo Sohn has regrettably had to withdraw from the February concert because of a hand injury. The concert will be given by Holland-based pianist Andrew Le, graduate of the Juilliard School and Interlochen Arts Academy. Details can be found through the “Highlights” tab on the Bethlehem home page.

February’s visual artist is Bill Beyers.

March 8, 2013
Two a capella choirs from Hope College, Luminescence and Twelfth St. Harmony

Luminescence is Hope College’s women-only a capella ensemble. Founded in 2003, the group is comprised of 8-12 upperclass(wo)men. Audiences can anticipate a wide selection of music, ranging from classical vocal concertos to upbeat contemporary hits. The ladies of Luminescence enjoy performing in coffee house settings, as well as bi-annual concerts at local churches. In addition, the group often sings at ceremonial banquets hosted by Hope College.

12th Street Harmony was formed at Hope College in 2001. Its name is taken from the street that runs east-west through the center of Hope’s campus.  Comprised of 8-12 auditioned male singers, 12th Street Harmony is a student-led close-harmony ensemble supported by the choral department.  The group prides itself on an ability to tackle a wide variety of choral literature from traditional sacred pieces to pop standards arranged by its own members.

Visual Art provided by the Kids at Hill CDC.

April 12, 2013
We Are the Ink Monkey, Americana/blues/storytelling group from Jackson, Michigan.

Fans describe We Are the Ink Monkey as energetic, fun, silly, respectfully irreverent, engaging, and addicting. Songwriter John Voelz, who  founded the band in 2011, sings and plays guitar, resonator, mandolin, harmonica, and ukulele. Mark Cox adds vocals and guitars, Stacey Jones, vocals and a wide variety of percussion instruments, and Victor McDermott adds vocals and upright bass. WATIM has an Americana/Blues/Country/singer-songwriter vibe that is much like if Johnny Cash had kids with the Muppets.

April’s Visual Art will be provided by Marjorie Arnett.

Performances are held on the second Friday of the month in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Sanctuary, located at 250 Commerce Ave SW in downtown Grand Rapids. Parking is provided in the enclosed parking garage. Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. and usually consist of two 45-minute sets. A “meet the artists” reception follows, hosted by members of the Bethlehem Church community.  Free-will donations of $10 per person are suggested.

History of MAJIC:

MAJIC was begun in 2007 to support high quality arts programming in West Michigan while helping the economically disadvantaged in the Heartside neighborhood and beyond.  MAJIC is a ministry of Bethlehem Church, which underwrites all of the concerts in advance and then contributes 100% of the at-the-door donations to local organizations whose focus is social justice.

The MAJIC Concert Series showcases music written and/or performed by local and regional musicians and features a local visual artist as well. The art is often available for purchase, and decorates the lobby of the church for the month following the concert. The series is an excellent way for people who are interested in cultural enrichment to attend live performances, view new art pieces, and help others in their community. MAJIC draws a diverse audience through varied programming of classical, folk, jazz, and world music.

To date MAJIC has generated more than $24,000 in concert donations and passed these funds on to the Heartside Fund, Heartside Music Together (now Hill Music Together) and the Coalition to End Homelessness.

If you have questions about this ministry, or would like to suggest a group or a visual artist for future series, please send an email to majicblc@gmail.com. And “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to receive notices of upcoming events!

If you would like to print up a poster to hang at your place of business, just send me an email and I’ll send you a jpeg or pdf file, whichever you prefer!

Past concert series:

2011-2012

October 7 Pachora
November 11 Rachael Davis
December 9 Sergei Kvitko and Ken Beachler
January 13 Keith Hall Trio
February 10 Wazobia and Badenya
March 9 Cabildo
April 13 Neil Jacobs

2010-2011

October 8 Sheila Landis
November 12 Who Hit John?
December 10 Embellish
January 14 Ralston Bowles
February 11 Eastern Blok
March 11 Diane Penning
April 8 Kurt Ellenberger with Ütaké

2009-2010

October 9 Drew Nelson
November 13 Los Gatos
December 11 Grand Rapids Women’s Chorus
January 8 An Dro
February 12 Paul Vondiziano
March 12 Loom
April 9 Steve Talaga