A Night to Remember

After an eventful day of flying over the Divide, the whole family went to the Jon Schmidt & Jake White concert at the local university.

Jake "plays" the 6 and 12 string acoustic guitar in unimaginable - sometimes unnatural - almost always unbelievable ways, making music and emoting sounds I have never before heard come from such an instrument. He strums a little,

but mostly plucks, picks, bends, taps, and hammers on every inch of every string, using alternate tuning/de-tuning techniques, and using the rest of the guitar for percussion accompaniment at the same time! His performance included beautiful interpretations of classical and modern pieces, combined with some original music. His final number was an energetic version of the Stones' "Paint it Black". http://www.jakewhite.com/



Jon plays "powerful, exhilarating piano music" with his own written arrangements of classical, contemporary, and new age pieces, as well as a number of his own original creations.

He is not only an artist and musician, but also a performer and entertainer. His show includes playing the piano with his stocking feet, playing upside down while laying on his back on the bench with his head under the keyboard (with both hands!), doing a wacky number with a long blond wig (to cushion the impact to his head), an audience member blues riff improvisation, and rounding out the show (after his encore) with a back flip off of a stage speaker box! http://www.jonschmidt.com/catalog/index.php

One of my favorites was an arrangement called "Pachelbel meets U2"

with concert cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, magically combining Johann Pachelbel's Canon with U2's "With or Without You". The number is mesmerizing, as they blend the two songs into one, in such a way that you cannot even tell where one ends and the other begins! http://www.sacredcello.com/

It was a night to remember, drawing out such a wide variety and range of emotions, and inspiring many to return to their piano and guitar practicing!