Gellman Concert Series

Performance of traditional Javanese keroncong music featuring Peni Candra Rini.
Peni Candra Rini, PhD (b. 1983) is a renowned Javanese singer, composer, and faculty member at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts. She is a master of several traditional forms and is regarded as one of Indonesia’s most daring young composers, one of only a handful of female composers in the majority Muslim nation.
Rumput performs innovative stringband music and shadow theater. They often collaborate with our teachers in Indonesia, from whom we have studied kroncong (Indonesian stringband music) and wayang kulit (shadow theater). They are based in Richmond, Virginia.

With roots in the Mississippi Delta, Chicago, and the Piedmont of Virginia, Richmond-based guitarist and songwriter Justin Golden’s origins are deeply vested in the blues. First picking up the guitar at age 19, Golden did what came naturally and let the music flow through him. With an extremely diverse musical palette, Golden aims to bring some new ideas to traditional blues forms. In addition to his work as a recording and performing artist, Golden maintains a busy teaching schedule and works with the non-profit The Rhapsody Project to provide community enrichment through cultural heritage programs. His new and critically acclaimed collaborative album with Virginia Bluegrass supergroup, Devil’s Coattails, “Golden Country: Volume 1” explores the intersecting roots of Blues, Bluegrass, and Country music.

Multi-instrumentalist, Master percussionist, and soulful singer Kevin Davis performs a special blend of Afro-Cuban, Latin, Caribbean and R&B music which he calls Clave’ (clah-vey) Soul. In 1984 Davis formed his ensemble, Ban Caribe, which performs at venues and festivals throughout Virginia, Washington DC, the West Coast and the Caribbean. He is revered as an educator and conducts workshops and master classes in percussion at area schools and universities including University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Virginia and others.

The Sweet Potatoes are Johnny Hargrove, Reyna Pannell, Stephon Larue, and Brian Cruse.
Johnny Hargrove, the group’s founder, was a classical guitar major at VCU. Self taught in Jazz He has run several rock bands, and classical ensembles.
Reyna Pannell, was trained in classical Violin and is a self taught singer. Coming from the classical world Reyna has been a pivotal member in several different wedding quartets and has performed solo at many venues in the Richmond, D.C. and Maryland area.
Stephon Larue, Has been playing music for most of his life. A Jazz Drum set major trained at VCU he has been a popular drummer originating in the Charlottesville area.
Brian Cruse, is one of our newest members! He is a classical and jazz bass payer and has performed and recorded with a variety of ensemble including, The Petersburg Symphony (principal bassist), Brunswick Band and many more.

Richmond string band picking old time and bluegrass with traditional instrumental tunes and leftist lyrics. Composed of Ærn Stapel on fiddle, banjo, and vocals; Chris Gatens on guitar, banjo, and vocals; and Trey Burnart Hall on mandolin and guitar.

The Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia celebrates its 20th anniversary by focusing on the number 20 in a gorgeous concert of romantic music from the late 19th century. An ensemble of six musicians from CMSCVA’s superb artistic roster will perform Edward Elgar’s Serenade opus 20 in a special arrangement for strings and flute, and Borodin’s famous String Quartet in D major, written as a 20th anniversary wedding gift for his wife.

Jenny and the Ghouls began in January 2023 when five friends came together to learn songs made famous by The Dubliners, The Wolfe Tones, and The Clancy Brothers, as well as labor and protest songs by artists like Ewan MacColl and Dick Gaughan. Fill your glass to Jenny and Ghouls’ rousing renditions of Irish and folk classics both contemporary and traditional. Jenny and the Ghouls are: Izzy Bailey (tin whistle and flute), Julia Laing (vocals and accordion), Nora Lesko (vocals and mandolin), Patrick Miller (vocals and guitar), Brady Robinson (banjo, bodhrán, and guitar).

From Russia With Love. Eliot and Friends will surprise and delight with performances of repertoire from 1875 to 1955 that ranks among the most beautiful of romantic harmonies and melodies. Dvorak, Saint-Saens, Rachmaninoff, Mahler,Scriabin, Shostakovich and more. Featuring solo piano; art songs; and piano duets, trios and quartets for violin, flute, clarinet and cello.