Malach, Snyder up for Wednesday GSMF concert

Cathie Malach and Steve Snyder

The Greencastle Summer Music Festival continues its series of free 7:30 p.m. Wednesday concerts in Gobin Church this week with Cathie Malach and Friends and Steve Snyder performing in an event made possible by a gift from Stu Fabe and Marla Helton.

Cathie Malach, Greencastle composer, pianist and accompanist, curates another varied and engaging program of original music and covers, bringing together a musical community including drummer/guitarist Ben Hogan, guitarist/bassist Bryan Langdoc, blues great Tad Robinson, saxophonist Levi Stewart (making his GSMF debut), flutist Leo Sussman, and singer Chris White. Steve Snyder, the jazz keyboardist and host of “Jazz at the Duck” will join with Cathie and do a solo set as well, joined by Hogan, Stewart and Sussman.

“This concert exemplifies our mission of bringing a community together through shared arts experiences. Everyone performing Wednesday lives here in Putnam County, with the exception of Levi Stewart, who just graduated from DePauw,” said Eric Edberg, the emeritus DePauw professor who has been organizing the concerts since 2005.

“Nearly every week, someone shares with me what a difference being part of the GSMF family of concertgoers and performers has made in their life; so often, someone tells me they were going through a rough period and these weekly gatherings helped them through it. Our attendance and fundraising is stronger than ever, and our endowment just received a very significant gift from the estate of Ellie Ypma.”

The GSMF concerts are made possible by the generous support of community members, this week’s event funded by a generous gift from Stu Fabe and Marla Helton.

“It’s remarkable to me that it is people who love the festival who fund it as a gift to the community. We don’t charge admission, and we don’t have grants from outside organizations. The Inn at DePauw provides rooms for out-of-town performers, and Kissel/Layne family, who own and run the Doc’s Inn, have recently become major donors. Our endowment at the Putnam County Community Foundation has been 100 percent funded by our concertgoers or gifts in memory of concertgoers,” Edberg continued. “These concerts truly are a gift from members of our community to the rest of Greencastle and Putnam County.”

Malach has performed in concert venues, clubs, recording studios, and transformative workshop settings, thriving in diverse musical genres, from new age to rock to folk. She composed, arranged and recorded albums with poet and lyricist Kim Rosen (including “Delphys: Ocean Born” and “Naked Waters,” on which she sang lead vocals); composed and recorded scores for short film; and collaborated with such artists as Peter Kater, Chris White, Paul McCandless, Eric Edberg, Larry Thompson, Amy Fradon, Leslie Ritter and David Darling. Her recent debut album, “HeartLand,” brings all her experience together.

Snyder has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia as well as appearing on 20 recordings with artists such as Randy Brecker, Dave Stryker, Jonathan Kreisberg, Brannen Temple, Robben Ford and the University of North Texas One O’clock Lab Band.

Professor of jazz keyboard/music theory at DePauw, he is a native Pennsylvanian, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in jazz studies from the University of North Texas and a DMA in piano performance (jazz emphasis) from the University of Texas-Austin. Snyder was selected as one of 66 pianists from all over the world to compete in the Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition, which was held in Paris, France, in October 2002.

The festival continues on July 26 with a solo recital by classical pianist May Phang.