CONCERTS FOR HEALING™ (CFH) is a multimedia concert series under the EGMP umbrella that presents beautiful music and educational productions that focus on issues of wellness and ecology. Previous concerts in the CFH series include Something’s Coming!, Kaleidoscope™, and Elements™. Up next is Elements Two™; see more about it below.

ELEMENTS TWO™, like its sister production, ELEMENTS™, celebrates the elements of the Earth—earth, wind, fire, water and metal—each of which has its own special beauty. These elements, along with the sensually rich expressions of nature, are reflected in the perfectly melded group of songs that comprise an album recording of jazz standards and American Songbook, including Latin favorites and just a dash of musical theater. In this Concerts for Healing project, Elena Greco solos throughout, joined by talented international solo and ensemble performers from multiple genres and styles. Once the album is completed, we’ll offer a beautiful live performance! Come along on the journey as I produce this album in Behind the Scenes – A Peek behind the Curtain: A Solopreneur Self-Produces an Album Recording, a Substack series. 

Personnel for this project so far (many more to come!) include:

Bruce Barnes, piano

Bruce Barnes, Music Director, Conductor, Arranger, Vocal Coach and Pianist, makes his home in Manhattan, where he made his Broadway debut conducting Peter Pan and regularly served as Associate Conductor of the Broadway production of Cabaret at Studio 54. Off-Broadway, Bruce served as Music Director for the hit tribute to Ethel Merman, Everything the Traffic Will Allow, starring Klea Blackhurst. Other Off-Broadway experience includes the critically acclaimed European production of Peter and the Wolf at the venerable New Victory Theater, Class Mothers of ’68, starring Priscilla Lopez and Nunsense. Bruce also arranged and music directed Hoo Doo Love at The Juilliard School, and Stormy Weather starring Leslie Uggams at the Prince Theater in Philadelphia.

National Tours include Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Happy Days, Kiss Me, Kate, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cabaret and Camelot. Internationally, he has toured with La Scala’s production of West Side Story and as a Musical Ambassador for Lincoln Center’s Meet the Artist program. He can be seen on television on HBO’s Cathouse, The Musical, as The Vocal Coach, trying to teach prostitutes how to sing. They never did learn.

As an accompanist and vocal coach, Mr. Barnes has collaborated with a range of artists, including Patti LuPone, Penny Fuller, Dee Hoty, Ruthie Henshall, Beverly Sills, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jo Ann Worley, Billy Porter, Eartha Kitt and Jeremy Irons. Bruce’s solo piano work has taken him from as nearby as the Plaza Hotel in New York City, to the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, to the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh, Scotland. When ships are sailing, Bruce occasionally serves as a Music Supervisor for Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Matt Scharfglass, bass

Matt Scharfglass is a New York City-based bassist (upright and electric) and guitarist. Matt has over 30 years’ experience in the music business, playing with and recording for numerous artists, and performing all types of music from Broadway to regional theater to dingy NYC rock clubs to events at Madison Square Garden. Matt plays frequently at cabaret venues such as Don’t Tell Mama, 54 Below, Metropolitan Room, and The Laurie Beechman Theatre, supporting well-known singers. He was previously the bass player (electric) for the New York Rangers and can sometimes be found in the pit at Broadway and off-Broadway shows. Formerly an editor for Guitar World Magazine, Matt has authored over a dozen bass and guitar instructional books and videos, and is an accomplished arranger with over 1,000 songs appearing in publications worldwide. He’s also a writer, music transcriber, and bass and guitar teacher. He has won the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs’ MAC Award twice, in 2022 and 2019, as Ensemble Instrumentalist.

BEHIND THE SCENES is a peek behind the curtain of self-producing an album through a Substack journal. I’ll take you along on my journey as I do everything a solopreneur is required to do to create, fund and promote such a project. The steps involved in this process are adaptable for self-producing any project, whether a recording, a concert, or a multi-media project, so if you’re a musician who hasn’t produced your own project before, this series, presented under the EGMP umbrella, is a good place to start.

EGMP CREATIVE ARTIST INTERVIEWS™ are live video discussions and interviews with creatives about what it means to be a creative artist in the US. There is often a misperception by non-creatives of why creatives do what they do and live the way they live. This series, an EGMP project, gives creatives a chance to describe what living their lives is like for them on a daily basis, what it feels like to be a creative, and what compels them to pursue their art, sometimes in spite of great obstacles.
The two sets of interviews will be be posted here soon!
Read more about this topic in Life as a Creative in the US (also found on Substack here).

THE MUSIC SALON™, a monthly performance experience and space for community for musicians. In this creative laboratory, professional singers and instrumentalists can perform in a non-judgmental arena, experiment with repertoire and expression, stretch beyond perceived limitations, and experience the space for spontaneity and improvisation. It’s fine to run pieces when you’re getting ready for an audition or a show, and it’s equally fine to experiment with work that you’re not sure about or that is a departure from your usual genre or style.

We welcome all musicians, but are particularly supportive of the needs of singers. While we once focused on classical music, The Music Salon now focuses on singers (and players) of cabaret, jazz, folk, and musical theater. Other genres are still welcome, though, as are non-musicians, such as poets, screenwriters, actors, and songwriters.

The group is not open to the public or spectators in order to maintain a safe and comfortable space for the creative artists. If you are interested in joining us, or know of someone who might be, you are warmly invited to let me know by emailing me. Our meetings resume this fall!

SOMETHING’S COMING! The Songs of Leonard Bernstein
Elena Greco, mezzo-soprano; Richard Gordon, piano
with Teresa Castillo, soprano; Theodore Chletsos, tenor; and Sung Shin, baritone
August 15, 2018
Born on August 25, 1918, Leonard Bernstein was a uniquely and monstrously talented American composer, pianist, conductor, writer and music lecturer. He conducted leading orchestras, most notably the New York Philharmonic.  His music spanned multiple genres—sometimes in the same work. I consider West Side Story and Candide to be masterpieces, each utilizing the American musical theater form, but requiring classically-trained voices.  His plentiful eclectic compositions include Peter Pan, Wonderful Town, On the Town, On the Waterfront, a Mass, Chichester Psalms, three symphonies, a ballet, an opera, film scores, choral works, chamber music and more.  He was also a compelling music lecturer; his famed Harvard lectures can still be found on YouTube.  He won 15 Grammys and was venerated by colleagues, musicians and the public.
EGMP’s Something’s Coming! The Songs of Leonard Bernstein concert presents vocal works of Bernstein, including those from West Side Story, Candide, On the Town, Peter Pan, Wonderful Town and more. Artists of the highest caliber will offer solos, duets, and ensembles in honor of Lenny.

KALEIDOSCOPE™
Elena Greco, mezzo-soprano; Richard Gordon, piano;
with Victor Khodadad, tenor; Beverly Butrie, soprano;
James Shackelford, baritone; Guillermo Cardenas, percussion
June 3, 2015
KALEIDOSCOPE™ embraces the kaleidoscope of human experience, the changing hues of our moods, our multi-faceted daily lives, the spectrum of human emotions. This part of the Concerts for Healing series explores how we can support our own mental health and that of our communities through simple, everyday actions. The concert includes music that encompasses the kaleidoscope of human experiences through multiple genres—musical theater, jazz and pop songs. Leave this concert informed, inspired and thoroughly entertained!

ELEMENTS™
Elena Greco, vocalist; Richard Gordon, piano;
with Risa Renae Harman, soprano; and David Silliman, percussion
November 20, 2013
ELEMENTS™ celebrates the elements of the Earth: earth, wind, fire, water and metal, each of which has their own special beauty. This Concerts for Healing performance begins with a short video about the environment and a little information about how we can each contribute effortlessly to preserving it. Then experience beautiful images of nature, followed by nature-themed music encompassing several genres. Musical theater, jazz standards, Latin jazz and music of the 1960s, with talented special guest artists, combine to provide an experience everyone can enjoy. Come to be inspired, and wait for the surprise at the end!

THE FLAVOR OF SPAIN™, an ongoing multimedia concert series which entertains while educating about the rich and extensive genre of Spanish art song, exploring the cultural factors that merge to create the sound of Spanish music, and offering you an experience of this thrilling, passionate genre.

What is it about Spanish music that lets you know instantly that what you’re hearing is Spanish? The Flavor of Spain explores the exotic cultural influences that create that unique sound. Deep in the lush, passionate and thrilling sound of this music are influences of the Moorish, Greek, Turkish, Italian, French, Sephardic and Flamenco cultures, and you will hear all of these elements in the music of The Flavor of Spain.

This concert series presents in multimedia beautiful examples of this rich genre. In Part 1 of this concert series, we hear the sounds of southern Spain – Moorish, Sephardic, Italian, Flamenco and Andalusian influence – including settings of folk songs from these regions by De Falla, Lorca, Turina, Obradors and others. In Part 2, we listen to the native sounds of northern Spain, including Catalan, Basque and French influence, and hear beautiful music by composers Granados, Guridi, de Iradier, Longas, Obradors, Toldra and Turina. Part 3, Unsung Songs of Spain, showcases little-known Spanish composers, such as Federico Longas, and little-heard songs of better-known composers. Part 4, Noches, Noches, explores the rich and moving musical culture of the Sephardim (Spanish Jews), sung entirely in Ladino. Audio-visual presentations of images, music and historical points of interest introduce live music, guiding you deeper into the “flavor” of Spanish music. You will leave with an understanding of how this unique sound came into being, as well as a deep appreciation for this amazing genre and the beauty of the Spanish language in song.

THE FLAVOR OF SPAIN™
Part 1:  Influences of Flamenco, Sephardic, Moorish and Italian cultures
Elena Greco, mezzo-soprano; Richard Gordon, piano
with Daniel Garcia, guitar; and Guillermo Cardenas, percussion
June 27, 2012
What is it about Spanish music that lets you know instantly that what you’re hearing is Spanish? The Flavor of Spain explores in multi-media the exotic cultural influences that create that unique sound. Deep in the lush, passionate and thrilling sound of this music are influences of the Moorish, Greek, Turkish, Italian, French, Sephardic and Flamenco cultures, and you will hear all of these elements in the music of The Flavor of Spain.
In Part 1 of this concert series, we focus on southern Spain. We will offer some Flamenco and Sephardic songs which exemplify the important contribution of these cultures to Spanish music, along with settings of folk songs from these regions by Andalusian composers De Falla, Taboada and Lorca. In addition, you will hear beautiful Spanish art songs from the 19th and 20th centuries, including the North American premiere of a song by Federico Longas, and songs of Turina and Obradors. A presentation of images, music and historical points of interest will introduce the live music, guiding you deeper into the “flavor” of Spanish music. You will leave with an understanding of how this unique sound came into being, as well as a deep appreciation for this amazing genre and the beauty of the Spanish language in song.

THE FLAVOR OF SPAIN™ PART 2
Part 2:  Influences of Catalan and Basque cultures
Elena Greco, mezzo-soprano; Richard Gordon, piano;
with Risa Renae Harman, soprano
May 1, 2013
In Part 1 of this concert series, we heard the sounds of southern Spain – Moorish, Sephardic, Italian, Flamenco and Andalusian influence – including settings of folk songs from these regions by De Falla, Lorca, Turina, Obradors and others.
In Part 2, we listen to the native sounds of northern Spain – Catalan and Basque influences. We will present beautiful music by composers Granados, Guridi, de Iradier, Longas, Obradors, Toldrà and Turina, as well as more Sephardic music.

THE FLAVOR OF SPAIN™
Part 3:  Unsung Songs of Spain
UNSUNG SONGS OF SPAIN, Part 3 of this series, showcases two wonderful modern Spanish composers who are mostly unknown in this country, Federico Longàs and Jordi Sabatés, as well as little-heard songs of better-known composers Joaquin Turina and Fernando Obradors. We will be offering two U.S. premieres in this concert, one with an interpretive dance. You will be amazed at the beauty and sensuality of this music, and you will leave with a deep appreciation for this amazing genre.

THE FLAVOR OF SPAIN™
Part 4: Noches, Noches
Part 4 of THE FLAVOR OF SPAIN™, Noches, Noches, explores the rich and moving musical culture of the Sephardim (Spanish Jews), sung entirely in Ladino.