Cajun Sound Thrills 900 at Pastorius Park

By MICHAEL CARUSO

I knew I was in for a special treat last Wednesday night even before I stepped foot on the first patch of grass in Pastorius Park. I could hear the throbbing excitement of Alligator Zydeco as soon as I got out of my car, and I could see the huge crowd gathered in and around Pastorius’ natural amphitheater as I began my trek across the park’s expanse of lawn.

I couldn’t help but think back over the many years I’ve covered these concerts for the Chestnut Hill Local and at how unlikely such an event as this could have or would have taken place, say, five or six years ago. Those were the days when the season of free concerts in Pastorius Park was a series of performances by one concert band after the next, often deriving their rosters of musical selections from the basic and constricted list of the most popular marches by John Philip Sousa.

Now I’m the last person to denigrate Sousa’s remarkable compositional gifts or to question the quality of talent and dedication displayed by most of the members of those bands. But anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear could and did testify that audiences were shrinking in size and declining in enthusiasm.

Even someone like myself, who shies away from the very notion of “political correctness,” came to view the lack of “diversity” among the crowds that attended the Pastorius concerts with growing alarm. Something needed to be done, and fortunately something was done in the form of a substantial change in programming.

An ensemble such as Alligator Zydeco would never have graced the stage a decade ago. Yet here it was, this eclectic band spearheaded by “Snakeman” Greg Troiano and “Zydeco Girl” and daughter Laura Troiano, drawing an audience of 900 strong. Admittedly, last Wednesday night was one of the more pleasant evenings weather-wise in recent experience — the humidity was not high, not oppressive, and there was virtually no threat of rain — and that might have encouraged nearly every potential listener to come out, but it was the engaging yet intense renditions given by the five-member band of this unusually bluesy and bass-oriented take on Cajun music that held that audience enthralled.

The band’s music is highly rhythmic yet never frenetic. It excites you but never denies you the time to enjoy that excitement. It’s strong but never overpowering to the point where it obliterates its listeners; rather it sweeps them up into its slightly zany fun-filled sonic universe.

There must have been a dozen couples of various ages, sizes and choreographic talents dancing away in front of the stage, while countless others moved their bodies in sympathetic pulsations as they sat in their chairs or sprawled out on their blankets. It’s concerts like these that help define Chestnut Hill as one of the region’s premier communities — not just regarding real estate but in human value.

NEW BOARD MEMBER

Deidre Renee Farmbry has been named a member of the board of directors of the Germantown Branch of Settlement Music School. The president and chief executive officer of the Urban Education Fund, which she founded two years ago, has deep roots in the community.

Born in West Philadelphia, she is now living just six blocks away from the home in Germantown where her family moved when she was only two years old. A graduate of Germantown High School, she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Temple University and her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.

“We focus on individuals and organizations that are working with young people and adults,” she said. “We work with school districts, for instance, and charter schools, offering professional coaching to aid in the efficacy of their efforts to develop leadership in communities that have often lacked that leadership. We try to help them assess the effectiveness of their programs through administrative workshops, updating their information, providing cutting edge readings, and mentoring onsite.”

Farmbry came to become a board member at Settlement’s Germantown Branch through a markedly positive experience with another advocacy group, The Links, Inc., Penn Towne Chapter.

“My mother believed in the arts,” she said. “As a child, I received ballet and violin and piano lessons, and I’m convinced that music lessons form an important part in the building of personal character because they broaden a young person’s outlook by enriching their educational experiences. An institution like Settlement Music School offers this opportunity equally to children who have a lot as well as to children who do not.”