Artist Series

Brown & Brown Piano Duo

Sunday, November 11

3:00 p.m.

Sanctuary

Freewill Offering toward the FPC Artist Series

Ellen was schooled in the classics and began working as a church organist and accompanist as a teenager. While Glenn was pursuing his Master of Music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, (maintaining their 150 pianos and tuning for such notable as James Levine and Arthur Loesser), Ellen was teaching music in the Lorain, Ohio City Schools. It was in Lorain that The Browns acquired their taste for Latin music by playing with Puerto Rican musicians. After moving to Arizona, Ellen attended Arizona State University, earning a Master of Music degree, while Glenn was the University’s Piano Technician. Eventually, Glenn channeled all of his time and energy into his business, Glenn Brown Piano Rebuilding, and directing, performing with and arranging for his jazz group, “The Ambassadors of Jazz.” Ellen honed her skills as a pianist/accompanist/arranger in performances with a wide variety of musical artists and is currently a member of the Music Faculty at Phoenix College and Dir.of Music at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church. Residing in Tempe, Arizona, these artists have shared many exciting moments including opening for the Mills Brothers at Chandler Center for the Arts, and being featured entertainers at the home of Phyllis McGuire of The McGuire Sisters in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Glenn cut his teeth on the blues, doing his first floor shows at the tender age of 9, as a trumpet-piano player and singer. Studies with Mr. Bobby Williams, of Alliance, an accomplished gospel/blues pianist and choir director, gave Glenn his unique style of keyboard harmony. At 19 years of age, he began playing trumpet and piano and arranging for the Eighth United States Army Military Band in Seoul, Korea, which was the top military band in the Far-East. He played for such dignitaries as Heille Selaise, Chiang Kai Shek and Charles DeGaulle. At the same time, he performed with The Jazz Five Band on weekly television shows, wrote and arranged music. Glenn also made a living playing in jazz groups for a number of years.

Native Ohioans, this dynamic duo met as music students at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. They’ve delighted in entertaining audiences with their own special brand of music ever since. Their lives reflect a wild montage of musical experiences. You’ll be delighted by the variety of old standards, jazz, Latin and gospel music!

Mary Beth Carlson, Piano

Sunday, February 10

9:00 & 11:00 a.m.

Free

Mary Beth Carlson, composer, recording artist, author, and former Teacher of the Year, performs nationally as a concert pianist and inspirational keynote speaker. Much of her original music has been inspired by her daughter Jody, born with cerebral palsy and autism. Loving Jody through her journey, complicated by severe mental illness, Mary Beth’s music is infused with a uniquely expressive depth of passion. She’s written and performed music to benefit organizations serving people with disabilities and unique life challenges including International Special Olympics, The Arc, Fraser Community Services, Children’s Cancer Research Fund, Alzheimer’s Association and Joni Eareckson Tada’s disability ministry, Joni and Friends. Mary Beth has annually co-produced and performed in a benefit concert for Joni and Friends. Fortunate to have opportunities to perform for a variety of distinguished audiences, she was honored to be invited by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to present a concert of restoration to guests from forty countries at The Cove in Asheville, NC. A top seller nationwide with several distributors in the gift market and also worldwide with Integrity Music, Mary Beth has produced and recorded twenty-seven albums of piano orchestral music on her label, MBC Productions. She’s also been featured on other CDs with Jim Brickman, J.D. Steele, Steve Hall, and fellow Integrity Music artists including Sandi Patty, Darlene Zschech and Don Moen. Mary Beth collaboratively created two volumes of comprehensive music experience programs for residents in Memory Care for The Goodman Group, a company that owns and manages senior living and health care communities throughout the US. Following its success, Mary Beth and her husband Kent completed an integrated, intergenerational music curriculum for Grand Living, a new, innovative company specializing in the development and management of distinctive senior living communities. They continue to train staff nationwide to implement their program.

Also in the past five years, Mary Beth debuted as an author and film score composer. She joined Dr. John Gray (Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus), best-selling author Brian Tracy and others to co-author a book titled Words of Wisdom ... Experts Share Strategies For Mastering Life & Business Relationships. Dr. Gray chose Mary Beth’s music to use in his audio series, Personal Success. In 2017, she composed and recorded a film score for the independent film, Living Word.Mary Beth’s vision is to help provide peace, hope, joy and inspiration through God’s gift of music.

Third Biennial Mesa Interfaith Choral Festival

Saturday, February 23rd, 7:00 p.m.

Grace United Methodist Church

(2024 E. University Dr., Mesa)

Choirs of First Presbyterian Church,

Grace United Methodist Church,

St. Luke's Lutheran Church,

and Mesa North Stake

Guest Clinician: Dr. Glenn Bennett

The concert will be offered free of charge. In addition to enjoying great choral music, the congregation will join with the choirs in singing several hymns. Come take advantage of this great opportunity to get to know and share the music of faith.

About the Artist Series

The 2018-19 Artist Series features outstanding artists, including the Brown & Brown Piano Duo and Pianist Mary Beth Carlson. Concerts are made possible by the generous contributions of our Patrons. Please consider helping to underwrite the concerts by making a tax-deductible donation to our Artist Series.

Become a Patron of the Arts!

Artist Series concert fees range from $300 - $2,000. If you would like to contribute financially, checks should be made payable to "First Presbyterian Church," with memo notation "Artist Series" and sent to: Mark Ramsey, First Presbyterian Church, 161 N. Mesa Dr., Mesa, AZ, 85201-6794. Concert Donors will be listed in future concert programs or, if requested, will remain anonymous. For more information on our Artist Series, please contact the Music Office, (480) 964-8606, Ext. 103.

Artist Series Patrons

Fermata ($1,000 & Up)

Bob & Joy S.

Graham & Barbara W.

Whole Note ($500 - $999)

Half Note ($200 - $499)
Dick & Carole B.
Jim & Laura B.

Dick K.

Steve & Gail W.

Quarter Note ($100 - $199)
Anonymous

Bob & Ann H.
Dennis & Darlene S.
Jeff & Jen S.
Paul & Gail S.

Eighth Note ($50 - $99)
Jon L.

Sixteenth Note ($25 - $49)

Carol A.

Gana M. & Monte N.

Dick & Sharon S.

Allan S.

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