I love music I have to admit .. I often write about music as a way to change our moods and get us excited .. my taste varies ~I really do enjoy all sorts of music from rock & roll ,to the standards, oldies too !
I have to say that I have never been musically inclined ... so to speak .. never had the urge to take lessons~ I am just a fan .. but that is not to say that music is not in our family .. quite the opposite!
On my father's side we have a very famous Pianist named Anthony di Bonaventura ~www.tunepiano.com/anthony.htm ~ as a little girl I went to see in him preform in Carnegie Hall .. his brother Mario is a conductor and another brother Sabatino was a music instructor ... I also have a cousin who plays the accordion .. he lives in Italy ~ Emiliano
... he plays professionally & also another famous cousin~ Daniele diBonaventura www.danieledibonaventura.it/ - plays the Bandoneon, an instrument not widely know here in the states !My Uncle Funsie played the accordion and my cousin Al has taken up in his footsteps . ..but the most famous and highly talented person I know has to be my brother Stephen .
Stephen started to play the Banjo when he was 12 years old .. he was inspired ,as my mother likes to say , by watching the Beverly Hillbillies on TV. That banjo music created a desire that, to this day is as strong as ever !
Stephen was in the Mummer's String band for years and every New Year's Day had us at the Italian American Club eating & waiting for the band to return so we could celebrate! My brother has a collection of Banjos that is out of this world .. each one designed from a theme.. all hand made !
He plays with a concentration that is intense and we often kid him about giving us a little smile . He has released a few albums and is currently working on another.. and everyone who hears his music is enthralled with it !
Last night he and a few others played in an outdoor venue in Swarthmore .. we picked up my mom & dad , grabbed the lawn chairs and sat in the breezy summer evening enjoying the sounds of light jazz ! there guys were phenomenal ! At one point my husband Clint said it sounded as if more than one banjo was playing at one time ! and only Stephen's fingers were flying across the strings making a unbelievable sound !
I am very proud to have such a talented brother ! and happy to report that music does live in our family !!!
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Very, very nice what you wrote about Stephen. I have to agree that he is the best and I love to brag to everyone in town that he is my husband. Oh, and he still watches the Beverly Hillbillies.
ReplyDelete- Tracy