Join us for a spirit-filled gathering featuring holiday favorites, swinging tunes and some surprises! Amanda Powell is known for her unique style of invitation, expression and storytelling that connects audiences and invites them along on an uplifting musical ride. She, along with her team of amazing musicians and friends, will envelop you in song and the beauty of the season.

Tickets to this event are $20 presale and $25 at the door. This event will also be livestreamed on BOP STOP's Facebook page at showtime. Accessing the stream is free but donations are encouraged and directly support the band. To donate, select "Donation: Livestream Attendee" (which is a $10 blanket ticket price) as your Ticket Option above.

Featuring

Amanda Powell, voice
Theron Brown, piano
Howie Smith, saxophone
Ian Kinnaman, bass
Anthony Taddeo, drums

-------------------------------

AMANDA POWELL, soprano, has been praised as “the star of the evening” (Seen and Heard International, UK) and "charismatic and theatrically arresting” (San Francisco Chronicle). A highly versatile musician, she is at home in repertoire from Monteverdi to Mozart to Ravel, and has toured internationally as soloist in baroque opera, oratorio, and crossover folk programs. Her tour performances with GRAMMY-winning baroque orchestra Apollo's Fire (Jeannette Sorrell) include such venues as the National Concert Hall of Ireland in Dublin, theIrish National Opera House, the Aldeburgh Festival (UK), the Metropolitan Museum in NewYork, the National Gallery in Washington, and Zellerbach Hall in San Francisco, among others. Her 2019 debut as Messiah soloist with the Calgary Symphony won kudos as "the soloist of the night... singing to perfection." As a recording artist, Amanda has been featured on several Apollo's Fire albums including Sugarloaf Mountain, Sephardic Journey, and Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain. Her solo album, Beyond Boundaries, is an intimate program of folk, jazz, and global music. She is a fluent improvisor and has collaborated with artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Jamey Haddad, and Sheila Jordan. Amanda currently tours with the Italian folk/jazz group, Alla Boara (Anthony Taddeo). Amanda is on the voice faculty at Cleveland State University. She is also the Community Arts Liaison for the Cultural Arts Center at Disciples Church, Cleveland Heights. www.amandapowell.info

Anthony Taddeo is a percussionist and composer currently residing in Cleveland, OH. Early on in his musical career he studied with world renowned percussionist Jamey Haddad before moving to New York City in 2009 to further pursue his musical career at The School for Jazz at The New school. While in NYC, he had the privilege of studying alongside masters such as Kendrick Scott, Jane Ira Bloom, Reggie Workman and Jimmy Cobb. Anthony has toured North America and Europe extensively and his versatility as a musician has led him to be featured on over 30 albums with a diverse array of musicians such as: Camila Meza, Dan Tepfer, Ron McClure, Frank Wes, John Raymond and many others. For the past decade Anthony has been an active composer and arranger for projects in NYC and Cleveland. In 2018 his film score work on Making Montgomery Clift was debuted at the LA film festival. His most recent compositions can be heard in his group-Alla Boara which seeks to bring recognition to Italy’s richly diverse folk music. Anthony is also an avid educator teaching both private lessons and at institutions such as the Jazz Studies program at Cuyahoga Community College and the Jazzfest Academy. In 2020 Anthony graduated with a masters degree in composition from Youngstown State University. He is endorsed by Out of the Drawer Percussion and Byrne Cymbals as a performing artist.

Howie Smith has presented concerts and workshops throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe and Australia, and has worked with musicians, composers and ensembles as varied as Anthony Braxton, Gary Burton, Dizzy Gillespie, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Elvis Presley, Pauline Oliveros, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Tone Road Ramblers. His recorded performances are equally diverse and his catalogue of compositions includes works for conventional big bands and combos; for string, wind and percussion ensembles; for electronics; and for mixed media. Smith is a professor emeritus at Cleveland State University, where he was the coordinator of jazz studies from1979 to 2006 and served as chair of the Art Department from 2003 to 2007. He has received two Fulbright grants, was awarded the Cleveland Arts Prize for Music in 1985, has been the recipient of an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Ohio Arts Council on seven different occasions, and in 2012 was awarded a Creative Workforce Fellowship from Cleveland’s Community Partnership for Arts and Culture. He has twice served as co-chair of both the Jazz Fellowships and the Music Overview panels of the NationalEndowment for the Arts, and has been associated with Yamaha as an artist/clinician since1971.

A glimpse of gospel, jazz, and soul from the great legends is what inspires the sound of pianist Theron Brown’s music. But the reason he plays is to encourage and influence people through his talents. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Theron currently resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is Professor of Practice at The University of Akron teaching jazz piano, and the program coordinator for Curated Storefront’s Artist Residency Program at the ‘I Promise School’. Theron also serves as an educator for the interactive piano learning app, PlaygroundSessions.Theron is heavily involved in the music community as the founder and artistic director of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place annually in Akron, Ohio’s downtown historic district. Theron performs and tours regularly with his trio that includes Zaire Darden on drums and Jordan McBride on bass. Theron received an amazing opportunity as he auditioned for and was cast as young Herbie Hancock in the 2016 film, Miles Ahead, directed by and starring Don Cheadle. In 2019, Theron released his debut album, No Concepts. Theron is currently working on his second album.