Free Concert: The Blue Parsley Boys and Clara Bach Lantz with Dianne Adams McDowell - Saturday, November 4th

The New Woodstock Free Library invites you to a concert of nostalgic music from two very different sets of singers.

In the first part of the concert, Clara Bach Lantz will sing pop songs of the 1970s, accompanied on the piano by Dianne Adams McDowell. Clara is the General Manager of the New Woodstock Free Library. She is from Peterboro, NY, and has lived in Hamilton, NY, for three decades. She has been singing for many years in the Central NY area with choirs and choruses, and she sings solo when the opportunity arises. She has also performed in amateur theatrical productions in the area.

Dianne is a ‘coal miner’s daughter’ from West Virginia and is a former resident of New York City. She was Vocal Arranger for Broadway’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, which was the recipient of four 2014 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and a 2015 Grammy Nomination. Dianne has also composed for Radio City Music Hall, worked for Disney Productions, and has been the recipient of numerous ASCAP awards. She is also a vocal instructor; Clara is grateful to be one of her students. For this concert, Clara and Dianne will share songs from The Carpenters, Carly Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, Melanie, and Neil Diamond.

After a brief intermission, we will be treated to an a cappella set by The Blue Parsley Boys. They are a group of amateur singers from the Hamilton, NY, area, singing together for over 25 years; Dave Lantz, Clara’s husband, is a member. They sing unaccompanied songs for male voices: barbershop, doo wop, gospel, high church, drinking songs, etc. They have sung all around the Hamilton area, including the Earlville Opera House and their “Three Village Tour” (Hamilton, Lebanon, and Oriskany Falls village greens on successive weekends).

They have been described as defying description. They sing everything from gospel to doo-wop to show tunes with a little barbershop thrown in. Essentially, they are an cappella group, but do perform a couple of numbers with accompaniment. Their motto is: “Singing for our pleasure and occasionally yours.”

Their theme song, The Blue Parsley Him [sic], explains their name. For “The (New) Woodstock Show” they will be singing songs like (this list may change) “Vive l’Amour,” “Go Rest High Upon That Mountain,” “Danny Boy,” “Banana Boat Song,” and “Coney Island Baby,” among others.

So, please come hear them, if only to figure out their name.

New Woodstock Free Library. 2106 Main Street New Woodstock, NY 13122

tel. (315) 662-3134