Terrific music and so glad I was there to see Peter play, hear his excellent piano playing, his songs, his beautiful daughter sing jazz and the other excellent musicians. The ensemble finale had me thinking I was in a temple with tibetan monks chanting while a yoga teacher did intrerpretative dancing! It beat the hell...er, heaven, out of staying home! Kudos to Grace Church, Rev Nick Cannon, their staff and those who came out to celebrate the "Final Performance of the 20th Annual Cathedral Arts Festival at Grace Church". A more beautiful setting for a great time would be hard to find.

Just a reminder, tonight at 7:30, join us at Grace Church Van Vorst (2nd and Erie) for the final performance in our Cathedral Arts Festival series for 2009.

As its supposed to snow today and tonight, why head to the big city across the river. Stay local and enjoy a wonderful performance by Peter Moffitt and his "Medicine Show" band.

Hope to see you there.

FG

Here is some more information directly from Saturday's Host, Peter Moffitt.

Get ready for something new at the final Cathedral Art Festival Event. The magnificent sanctuary of this historic church, Grace Church Van Vorst, has seen all manner of attractions produced for the Cathedral Arts Festival by all manner of people. Art openings, auctions, poetry, singer-songwriters, coffeehouses, rivers of champagne, outrageous celebrations (including a surprise visitation from Reverend Billy and his Stop-Shopping Gospel Contingent), and ?now, something completely different,? a Medicine Show, which is the name of the first music event to feature Peter Moffitt, who is Grace Van Vorst's music director, and has been since 2003.

Moffitt, upon being asked why he waited six years:?It has taken me this long to settle myself here, to feel my roots going deep, to allow myself to belong and be loved. Back in 2003, when I was hired, all of my vibrant musician friends (some of whom will be with me at the Medicine Show) said 'You must use this job as a venue; you could cut a more dynamic profile!' I shudder to think how THAT would have come out! I like to think I chose to grow deep, not wide!?

?Over the last six years I have been artistically and vocationally nurtured, yes, first and foremost in my church, but during these last few years, also in the increasingly deep friendships with many people from outside the church, close-knit in fellowship, especially in the sharing of creative ideas, honest reflection, and the a priory assumption of mutual support. For me, music lives in community. ? (At this point Moffitt wisely turned down another cup of coffee.)

When quizzed about calling his concert a ?medicine show,? he improvised a little disquisition on the term ?medicine,? as meaning ?a specified action or substance, or even a conceptual distinction whose defining quality is the power when used or invoked to make a difference in a given circumstance pertaining to life and the well-being thereof.?

Remedy, repair, correction, magic bullet, that thing you gotta have, gee, if only...? ?yeah, you understand! Well, to make money, ya gotta show something to somebody, and then induce in them a deep need for that item. That's strong medicine. In the nineteenth century, it became a sure-fire strategy to assemble the most exotic and unheard-of foreigners with exotic and unusual performance skills, such as Hindu mystical snake-charmers, and list the most outrageous names of ingredients on a label (or show-placard), and convince a lot of decidedly non-cosmopolitan folks to trade coins for nasty little bottles, filled with 'patent medicine.' ?

--Uh, so you could say most of those miracle cures were, uh, patently fraudulent? ?I'm glad it was you going after that pun.?
--And are you selling medicine? What are your special ingredients?

?OK, let's drive this metaphor into the ground. My ingredients are, in fact, myself and the small crowd of people with me. The medicine we're mixing is the music made by our sharing presence. Being fully self-expressed all 'round, and not one person crimped or crowded by another. This stuff actually cannot be sold, it only works when shared/given. And we are fully qualified to administer this stuff.?

--Wait a minute! Your placard shows admission prices, in US dollars. ?Yup, and no health plan will pony up to that! But entering the room ain't the medicine. The Medicine's free; money from admissions is itself medicine for the care and feeding of lots of people, and for the costs of being able to have a show at all.?
--Oboy, you're just...
?and the kicker is, people give the music right back, even adding to it in the process.?

--For a music guy, you're kinda wordy!
?Come and share this with us, and you tell ME if it's free!?

This Saturday marks the final performance of the Cathedral Arts Festival at Grace Church Van Vorst for 2009. In June we had a CAF coffee house with an Evening of Music and Poetry hosted by Glen Coleman. It drew a large turnout and received rave reviews. In August, there was an Open Mic night with a variety of performances. In October There was the "50th Anniversary of My Last Birthday Party" cabaret style performance including choral arrangements and other musical acts hosted by Donald Gallagher. In November, there was the official 20th Anniversary Gala Event featuring exceptional artwork from local and regional artists. It was quite an event and a great success. Now this weekend, December 12th at 7:30, Grace Church Van Vorst is pleased to present "The Peter Moffitt Medicine Show". Please join us for an evening of jazz selections and original music Peter Moffitt will be playing keyboards, cello and flute and will be joined by Nina Moffitt on vocals, Kyle Wilson on Sax, Yoshi Waki on bass and others. It's an event you wont want to miss. Hope to see you there for this final event in the Cathedral Arts Festival at Grace Church Van Vorst. Admission is only $10.