PHOTO: Tim Sullivan and KT Sullivan. Courtesy Carole Howard.
Fans of country singer-songwriter Tim Sullivan and his hugely talented family will want to move fast to buy tickets if they are planning to attend the cabaret-style benefit concert in Durango showcasing the musical skills of three members of the family, plus two other special guests, on Saturday evening, October 14.
Theme of the event is ‘Broadway in the Rockies’.
All concert proceeds go to the Jim and Elizabeth Sullivan Foundation for the Arts to provide scholarships for deserving local youth with a talent for music, dance or visual arts in the Four Corners.
The event will take place in the ballroom of the DoubleTree Hotel at 7:30pm. After the concert there will be an informal reception and jam session in the DoubleTree’s Animas River Lounge. All attendees are welcome.
Multiple Pagosa Springs youth have benefited from scholarships from the Sullivan Foundation. They include members of the Pagosa Springs Girls Choir, Kathleen Isberg’s piano student Jovanka Ponce de Leon, and Venita Burch’s voice student Gustavo Palma, piano student Mark Holladay, and voice and piano student Regina Sikes.
Tim Sullivan’s sister KT Sullivan is returning to Durango from New York City to perform as the headliner for the concert. She is the star of numerous Broadway productions and an internationally acclaimed singer and recording artist. KT has sung in several venues in the U.S., including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Spoleto Festival and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as in London, China and Australia. Her theater credits include Broadway, where she starred in Marilyn Monroe’s role of Loralei in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” She also performed and danced the tango with Sting in “Threepenny Opera.”
Tim Sullivan is well-known in Pagosa Springs for his many local performances when the dance floor is jammed with people doing the Texas two-step and line dances to his music, both original and covers of such greats as George Jones and the Eagles. He has performed in seven countries. He also has played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and in Carnegie Hall, and been a featured performer with country stars such as Alan Jackson, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Glen Campbell and Tammy Wynette.
In addition to Tim and KT Sullivan, their mother, Elizabeth Sullivan, is returning to Durango from Oklahoma to perform. A brilliant vocalist, songwriter and piano player, Elizabeth Sullivan is the matriarch of this accomplished musical family. When they were young, her eight children formed the Sullivan Family Gospel Singers with their mother, from whom they learned classical piano and voice as youngsters.
Tim Sullivan and his family have performed in concert at Carnegie Hall four times. Their last performance was featured on NBC’s “Today Show” and “NBC Nightly News.”
Also on stage will be award-winning singer and recording artist Natalie Douglas, as well as jazz pianist and composer Jon Weber, former host of “Piano Jazz” on NPR. Both Douglas and Weber have impressive U.S. and international performing credits and have wowed fans in Durango at previous Sullivan family benefit concerts.
Tickets and sponsorships
October 14 marks the 10th Sullivan family scholarship concert. Tickets are $100. Half-sponsor or full-sponsor tables with premium seating are available as well.
Purchases may be made online at jesullivanfoundation.com or by emailing j.e.sullivanfoundation@gmail.com or by phoning Tim Sullivan at (970) 749-5531 for assistance. All seats are reserved. Seating is cabaret style and a cash bar will be available.
Master classes available
While here, the gifted musicians from New York will follow their past tradition by hosting a vocal performance master class for local high school and college-age performers who want to take advantage of their experience and expertise.
The master class sessions will take place at Stillwater Music’s performance space at 1316 Main Ave., Suite C, in Durango on Friday, October 13, from 3 to 5pm and Saturday, October 14, from 10am to 2pm.
The cost is $25 and scholarships are available through the Sullivan Foundation at j.e.sullivanfoundation@gmail.com. One of the master class participants will be chosen to receive a scholarship from the Sullivan Foundation to perform next year in New York City. As well, some of the master class participants will perform at the October 14 concert.
