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Jazz Messenger

March 10, 2021

Drummer Paul Gavin is Director of the freshly minted Gulf Coast Jazz Collective that is performing regularly at the Gulf Coast Symphony’s Music and Arts Community Center. Here is his story.

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A Wise Violinist Does Not Lose Her Way

January 22, 2021

Many people believe we are fated to become what we eventually become. In Reiko Niiya’s case, the instrument of fate was the combined will of her mother and aunt, who decided early on that the child would grow up to be a fine violinist.

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Singing It, Frankly

December 15, 2020

Brian Duprey was born in Woonsocket, R.I., once a landing point for French Canadians relocating in the United States. Though Brian’s family didn’t descend from due North. “Everybody thinks Duprey is French. It’s actually Polish. They didn’t know how to spell the name in English when my family came here. It was actually Dypry.”

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A Gospel Singer Goes Broadway and Barry

November 13, 2020

Tenor Mark Sanders was one of those kids who moved around a lot. He was born into a military family at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, FL.; Though the family moved to Chicago six months later for a few years, before hitting the road again, this time to Wichita, KS.

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A Portrait of the Artist…as His Own Man

November 11, 2020

Violinist Mark Wood was a founding member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a platinum-record rock group that blends heavy metal music with orchestral sounds. Mark has his own band now and is on a mission to revitalize the symphony orchestra in popular culture.

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