DATE: Friday, October 31, 1997              TAG: 9710290204

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 10   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   61 lines

``BANJOMANIA'' TO OPEN 59TH CONCERT SEASON

The 59th season of the Portsmouth Community Concert Association will open Saturday with a performance by four singing banjo players who also do some comedy routines.

The show, called ``Banjomania,'' will begin at 8 p.m. at Willett Hall.

The Portsmouth association is one of the oldest continuous Community Concert organizations in the nation. When the local group passed its 50th anniversary in 1988, only one other in the country had been in existence longer.

``Banjomania,'' a California-based ensemble, is an unusual touring group of musicians. They play a variety of string instruments and specialize in music from the Golden Era of jazz from 1920 to 1935. The program also will include hit songs from the 1940s, '50s and '60s.

Subscription tickets now are on sale and will be available at the Willett box office prior to the Saturday concert. Membership prices range from $35 for adults and $17 for students. Subscriptions may be purchased at full price at any time during the season. In addition, some single-concert tickets will be available to student groups interested in a particular performance. For information, call 483-2283.

The season subscription includes admissions to five programs. In addition to ``Banjomania,'' the following concerts are scheduled:

Bridgett Hooks, soprano, Dec. 6. Hooks, 30, is an African-American praised for her ``rich ringing voice.'' Over the past two seasons, she has appeared with the Cleveland Symphony in Cleveland and at Carnegie Hall with Robert Shaw conducting; with the National Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony, at the St. Denis Festival in Paris, Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Aspen Festival and the Cincinnati May Festival. She has sung recitals at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York and at Kennedy Center in Washington. A native of Phoenix, Ariz., she has degrees from Manhattan School of Music and Curtis Institute of Music. She was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera national auditions and a finalist in the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition.

Wu Han, pianist, Jan. 17. A Taiwan-born pianist, Wu Han is making her first appearance in this region although she has been heard a number of times on WHRO, the local PBS station. She is a frequent guest with leading chamber music groups and has appeared around the world as a soloist with major symphony orchestra. She has played at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Cleveland's Severence Hall and Boston's Symphony Hall.

``American Rhapsody,'' a celebration of Gershwin, Feb. 16. The show will highlight the careers of George and Ira Gershwin from Tinpan Alley to Broadway hits, from Hollywood success to now well-known works for concert hall and operatic stage. The company coming to Portsmouth will feature eight singers and dancers with a costume wardrobe that reflects the Gershwin brothers' moods and styles. They will be accompanied by an 18-piece orchestra.

Aram Basmadjian, organist, April 3. Basmadjian travels with an MDS-80-S touring organ built by the Allen Organ Co. of Macungie, Pa., one of the world's largest builders of church organs. The touring instrument achieves pipe organ sound through digital technology known as sampling. Basmadjian's first compact disc was played on the four-manuel Allen organ at First Baptist Church of Pomona, Calif. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

``Banjomania'' will perform at Willett Hall tomarrow at 8 p.m.

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