@ the Fifth Annual Center Stage, Benefiting the LGBT Community Center of the Desert
Riviera Hotel, Resort and Spa in Palm Springs, Friday, November 7th, 5:30 PM
By Lisa Morgan
Imagine, if you will, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Justin Timberlake joining forces and opening a music school across the street from Juilliard. The brilliant outcome of that venture would be these four, very becoming, classically trained, all male musicians known as “Well-Strung”.
Two violins, a viola and cello are expertly played by the quartet of instrumentalists, as they dynamically present “Le nozze di Figaro” by Mozart. Then, just when you think you know what’s coming next, they gracefully woo you into another composition as they open their mouths and begin to sing in perfect arrangement and harmony, an excerpt from the Black Eyed Peas, “I got a feeling…” It is a sonically delightful experience, brought to you by four musicians; each individually accomplished, but pure genius when they perform this and many other pop and classical mashups in their nationally popular and critically acclaimed show, “Popsicle”. Their brilliance was not at all lost on Kathy Lee and Hoda when they performed on the TODAY show, and they’ve been touring rigorously ever since.
Well-Strung is composed of first violinist Edmund Bagnell, second violinist Christopher Marchant, cellist Daniel Shevlin and violinist Trevor Wadleigh, all well versed in symphony and musical theater. The show is directed and co-written by none other than Donna Drake from the original cast of “A Chorus Line”, and the stellar arrangements are produced by the prolific and industry wide respected, David Levinson.
Speaking with first violin, Edmond Bagnell, he shared about life on the road: “We’ve toured constantly since Fall of 2013, playing some cool situations and some unusual situations. The experience has really pushed us as a group; we know each other pretty well these days. Surprisingly, there are no horror stories. There was one incident where we arrived in a town late at night, to play the next day, only to discover they had only booked one room for all of us. I don’t even remember how we decided, but without much drama, two of us just slept on the floor and two of us slept on a bed. I think it all speaks to the ‘one-ness’ that we have developed vocally, musically and personally.”
Well-Strung will perform Friday, November 7th at the Riviera Resort and Spa Hotel Grand Ballroom, in Palm Springs. They will perform along with comedian, Kate Clinton, for the Fifth Annual Center Stage, benefiting the LGBT Community Center of the Desert. The Riviera Resort and Spa is located at 1600 N. Indian Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. Tickets start at $175. For tickets or more information, call 760-416-7790, or visit thecenterps.org. You can also get a glimpse of these talented four at their website www.well-strung.com
