Little House That Roared, 2012 Edition—

Tom Chapin Is Looking Forward To Returning To Newtown

By Janis Gibson

“I’ve been in many different performing situations in my career,” said Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Tom Chapin, “but I have to say that participating in The Little House That Roared concert last year was kind of unique — the idea that the bulk of the show was young, local talent — and a lot of fun.

“I thought the audience was quite loving and appreciative of young people making good music,” he continued, “so when I was asked if I would do it again, I said, ‘Sure.’”

Mr Chapin will return to Newtown High School on Sunday, March 25, as part of a family-friendly performance produced by The Little House that Roared, a program of Congregation Adath Israel of Newtown. The concert will begin at 3 pm and is scheduled to end at 5. Tickets are $12 to $20 if purchased in advance, $15 to $25 at the door.

Rabbi Shaul Praver of Congregation Adath Israel said that the concert has two main purposes: “It provides a sort of finishing school for our talented young people to be part of a show and interact with an audience, and there is nothing better than being on the stage with a Grammy Award-winning professional like Tom Chapin, and it is valuable to have intergenerational programming that families can enjoy together. Additionally, it enables the synagogue to be more relevant to the community. Programs like this and our upcoming interfaith Seder helps us make new friends and be more of a part of the community at large.”

Reflecting on last year’s show, he said, “The show was really successful — about 650 attended — and I think it surprised a lot of people. We hope to fill the house with more than 900 people this year and are delighted that Tom will be joining us again.”

Mr Chapin, who plays six- and 12-string guitars, as well as the banjo, mandolin and autoharp, has recorded more than 20 CDs, split between his children’s and adult songs, with many of the former having crossover appeal to the adult audience. His most recent recording is Give Peas A Chance, 14 songs about “good food and the green Earth, including locally grown and eaten food, farmers’ markets, school lunches, the joy of slow food, junk food, picky eating, home gardening, honey bees, the food chain, and hunger,” and his performance will pull from his full range of songs as well as advance requests, which can be made on his website, www.TomChapin.com.

He said he enjoyed meeting the performers back stage last year, taking pleasure in their excitement, as well as watching some of them from out front. “The quality and range of the young talent was quite impressive; I am really looking forward to doing the show again,” he said.

This will be Mr Chapin’s third performance in Newtown; he made his first local appearance at The Flagpole Radio Café at Edmond Town Hall in November 2010, which led to his invitation to last March’s Little House That Roared concert. He also learned he has a Newtown connection: resident Roger Sprung, who appears at the Newtown United Methodist Church Coffeehouse the first Saturday night most months, was his late brother Harry’s banjo teacher back in the 1960s.

“It was a pleasure to meet him,” Tom said. “When Harry wanted to learn to play the banjo, everyone in New York told him that Roger was best teacher he could get.”

Mr Chapin is currently working on a record for autistic kids to complement a textbook that helps teach kids in preschool through second grade with songwriter Phil Galdston, best known for “Save The Best For Last,” which was recorded by Vanessa Williams and received four Grammy nominations.

“It is a very interesting, informative and cool project,” says Mr Chapin. He is also active with the NARIS Board of the Grammys, advocating for maintaining or returning arts in schools. “We’re musicians, we should be doing something, making some noise as arts continue to be cut in schools,” he said.

He has been very pleased that “Not On The Test,” a song he wrote with John Forster for National Public Radio’s Morning Show, a swipe at today’s emphasis on test scores, has been so embraced by many parents, teachers and students.

“I think it is part of being a citizen, to make a stand on what you believe in, and I think this is really important. Education requires the arts, especially in today’s world. We used to have rote jobs, but they don’t exist here anymore. Now we have rote education — teaching to the test; a well-rounded education requires the arts,” he said.

He also serves on the board of WhyHunger, the charity Harry founded more than 35 years ago as World Hunger Year.

Mr Chapin recently concluded a deal that will turn his song “Backwards Birthday Party” into a children’s book.

“The publisher is looking at illustrators now,” he said. He is also tickled at his “Two Kinds of Seagulls,” which was recorded in 2001 and included a vocal appearance by Dr Ruth, is being incorporated into a one-women play about the famous sexologist. “They want me to record a video of the song that will be shown as part of the show.”

In addition to information on concert schedule and recordings, his website provides links to video clips and, under Do Something!, other websites where you can support a cause simply by clicking on the site.

Others Who Will ‘Roar” At NHS

Also returning from last year’s inaugural show are classical guitarist Yossi Kohrman-Glaser, now a junior at Newtown High School who recently performed a classical guitar recital at St John’s Episcopal Church in Sandy Hook as the culmination of his NHS Junior/Senior Project course; 17-year-old violinist Sam Weiser, the only Manhattan School of Music precollege student ever to double major classical violin and jazz violin; and The XY Chromatones, a male a capella group with a breezy style and fun-to-listen-to harmonizing.

New to the concert will be singers Julia Bogdanoff and Gillian Chanko and the Chamber Singers of the Fairfield County Children’s Choir, under the leadership of Maestro Jon Noyes of Orange. The choir will open the show with Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies,” then later perform five numbers, including two from Oklahoma! and a “spirited version” of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The group will also perform four songs, including the round “This Pretty Planet,” with Mr Chapin. 

Mr Noyes, who is also a public school music teacher in Stamford, founded Fairfield County Children’s Choir (FCCC) 17 years ago. He said the independent, 300-member group (of which about 90 will be appearing in Newtown) represents “20 towns in three counties in two states.” Members range from grades 4 to 12, and “we specialize in everything from Bach to gospel to Broadway; part of the education is to expose the children to all types of music,” he said.

He noted that FCCC “has a long connection of collaborative events with Rabbi Praver, and we do full and collaborative concerts, and really enjoy the latter for the exposure it gives the singers.” He added, “So many of our members know Tom’s music, are fans, and are really looking forward to this performance; it will be a highlight for them. And while they have the songs, the choir members are working out the harmonies, which is a lot of fun for them.”

Mr Chapin is also looking forward to the meeting, noting, “I love it when there is a chorus; it helps make the songs spring to life and is pretty magical. I am always thrilled to perform with kids’ choruses.”

Todd Simmons is the FCCC accompanist; more information about the group can be found at www.singfccc.org

Newtown Middle School seventh graders Julia Bogdanoff and Gillian Chanko will be singing “Bosom Buddies” from Mame. Both girls have performed in plays around town and Julia was most recently seen as Rosie in last weekend’s middle school’s production of Bye Bye Birdie. A member of Congregation Adath Israel, she saw the show last year and is “very excited to be part of it this year, and to be on the same stage as a professional like Tom Chapin.”

Newtown High School is 12 Berkshire Road. To purchase tickets, visit TheLittleHouseThatRoared.ticketleap.com or Dunkin’ Donuts, 6 Queen Street in Newtown. Tickets can be charged over the phone by calling 203-209-4662.