[Editor’s Note: Dr. Dewberry is a former weekly essayist for this newspaper.]
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Dr. Carter Dewberry’s OC Cello Choir will return to the Gaslamp Restaurant, Long Beach, on Sunday, Sept. 21, at 7 o’clock.
Her performance is to celebrate the launch of The Cello Challenge, a four-month training program for cellists throughout Southern California to improve their technical skill, music theory knowledge, artistry, and sight-reading ability.
The choir will perform classical, pop, rock and folk dance melodies. The concert will open with the chamber music trio Belle3Musique.
Dr. Dewberry is not a typical music teacher. “I have heard that the definition of retirement is doing exactly what you want to do,” she says. “By that definition, I have been retired since I was 11 years old.”
At age 11, she began teaching cello. She has been teaching ever since.
Dr. Dewberry's teaching journey has led her to create the OC Cello Choir. Comprised of her students, this ensemble presents a unified sound and interpretation resulting from its members being given the same musical training. The ensemble, whose members range in age from 9 to 76, benefits both from both youthful exuberance and a mature musical approach. Dr. Dewberry asks the members to choose most of the repertoire in order to create a high level of incentive and passion for learning the music.
Dr. Dewberry’s newest project was developed as an inspiration from a training course she enrolled in to complete her first marathon. She sees The Cello Challenge as an opportunity for amateur cellists of all ages to train intensively for a set period of time to reach a specific goal. The Cello Challenge will culminate in a final event that includes a large cello ensemble performance in February.
The Gaslamp, 6251 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., is at the corner of Loynes and PCH. Dr. Dewberry may be contacted at http://www.occellochoir.com.
