Daria Musk Will Be Co-Headlining With Her Mom

At Flagpole Radio Café Season Finale

By John Voket

Newtown’s Daria Musk is going straight from rubbing elbows and performing among some of the world’s top musicians, back to perform in her home state, and then to the stage of her own hometown hall where she will co-headline with her mom – all in the space of a few weeks.

The increasingly noticed Newtown recording artist is fresh off her jaunt to Austin, Texas, where she interacted in several capacities at SXSW or the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival: performing; acting as a product rep for a renowned guitar company; oh yes, and getting the personal counseling from, and her new album into the hands of, none other than Quincy Jones.

But in chatting with the bubbly singer-songwriter over sushi on Church Hill Road recently, Daria is taking it all in stride. She’s busy promoting her new EP Bright As Night, which features the infectious, movie-soundtrack ready single “Just Like a Star.”

“South by Southwest was such an amazing experience,” she told The Newtown Bee. “I actually got the chance to be an artist rep for Taylor, which makes the greatest guitars in the world. And I got to give Quincy Jones a copy of my new project.”

Daria said as she was in the final stages of preparing to depart for Austin, she realized she might not be able to carry her beloved Taylor guitars on the plane.

“My Taylor guitars are my babies, and since I didn’t have road cases for them, I didn’t want them getting beat up in the luggage compartment on the flight,” she said. “So I took a chance and called the company to ask if I could borrow a couple of their instruments at South By Southwest, because I knew they’d be exhibiting at the trade show. A few days later they called back, said they listened to my demo and liked my material, and that they would hook me up with guitars when I got to Austin.”

While a 2008 visit to SXSW helped Daria to recon her way around this year’s convention, and the hundreds of venues presenting live music from up-and-comers like Daria, to monster international acts like Metallica, she was repeatedly flattered to be recognized by industry reps who she met during her trip to SXSW the year before.

On the heels of her return to Connecticut, Daria will play her first headline set on Sunday, May 17, at Fairfield’s Stage One., where she promises to bring along a few friends she hand-picked to support her. Adding to the spirit of community, Daria, who also teaches guitar and songwriting lessons to local young people, will be inviting 15-year old Savannah Rhodes-Podyrski on stage to perform a few songs they wrote together.

She has also invited special guests Tim Blane Band from Boston who will be packing their upbeat acoustic sound, complete with a horn section. The Fairfield show will also mark the release of Daria’s debut EP, which is now available for purchase online at www.myspace.com/dariamusk. 

Doors open at 7 pm, and the show is open to all ages. Tickets are only $5 at the door, day of the show. Stage One is across the street from the Fairfield train station at 70 Sanford Street; call 203-259-1036 or visit FairfieldTheatre.org for more information.

Then on Saturday May 30, at 7 pm, Daria will hit her hometown’s largest venue sharing the stage with her mom — a recording artist in her own right, and a highly respected educator and classical musician. The pair will perform alone and together the season finale of  Newtown Cultural Arts Commission’s Flagpole Radio Café. The show happens at the Edmond Town Hall Main Stage. 

Daria’s mom, the flutist and recording artist Wendy Musk, was taught and inspired by several of the finest flutists of the 20th Century. As a student she studied with the formidable Harold Bennett, first flutist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and at 16 was enrolled at Boston University under the tutelage of James Pappoutsakis of Boston Symphony Orchestra. 

During the summers of undergraduate school, Wendy received the Beineke Fellowship to play at the Tanglewood Festival where she studied with Doriot Dwyer and was a soloist with Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas and the New Music Festival under the direction of Gunther Schuller. She is also a recipient of the esteemed Koussevitsky Prize. 

Gradating Boston University with a double degree in performance and education, Wendy joined the masters program at the Juilliard School as a student of Arthur Lora and subsequently Julius Baker. During her Juilliard years, Wendy co-founded the American Woodwind Quintet, which won the Artists International Award twice, debuted at Carnegie Recital Hall and joined the staff of teaching/performing artists at Lincoln Center Institute. 

An avid advocate for arts-in-education programs, Wendy became the spokesperson and coordinator for the Arts Consortium for Education, representing 56 professional arts organizations. 

Wendy also went on to record five albums as half of the critically acclaimed duo Present Dreams, the other being  composer Richard A. Musk. Present Dreams stands alone at the crossroads of many musical genres making music that uplifts, soothes, excites and inspires. 

Present Dreams’ five albums have garnered international praise and are no available for purchase on iTunes.  Currently, Wendy teaches at the Fraser Woods School and resides in Newtown.

The Flagpole Radio Café is an ongoing variety show produced by Newtown residents Jim Allyn, Martin Blanco, Robyn Fitzgerald and Barbara Gaines, in conjunction with Newtown Cultural Arts Commission. Returning to the Flagpole Radio Café this month will be music director Jim Allyn, musicians Howie Bujese, Rick Brodsky and Dick Neal, host and guitarist Chris Teske, and performers Martin Blanco, Barbara Gaines, Jennifer Rogers and David Wheeler. 

Ticket for this performance with Daria and Wendy Musk are $5 and $10. Reservations can be made online at NewtownArtsCommission.org and clicking on the Flagpole Radio Café link.

If further information is needed, call 364-0898.