Denise and DeNephews On Stage November 15

SALISBURY, MD---Denise and DeNephews perform in concert on Wednesday, November 15, at 7 p.m. in Holloway Hall Auditorium on the campus of Salisbury State University.

Denise Carlson, born in Rochester, MN, studied classical violin from age 8, winning numerous scholarships and competitions. At age 15 she won a competition which gave her a solo performance with a local symphony featuring a Mozart concerto. High school friends encouraged her to try improvisational techniques where she found a wonderful new outlet and discovered a natural gift to simply play "off the top of my head."

Her first gig came right after high school in Rapid City, SD, playing with the house band in a local club. It was there that she started singing in public. When the opportunity to play with a blue grass band came along, Carlson grabbed her violin and moved west to Denver. It was there that she met musical soul mate Kate Bennett who performed with her and band members as part of the group, Everybody and His Brother. Five years later, Carlson and Bennett moved to the East Coast and formed Cowboy Jazz.

Many tours and years later Carlson was performing freelance work, when she was invited to perform on a local broadcast of Radio from Downtown singing and playing jazz violin where she met and impressed National Public Radio’s (NPR) feature reporter Susan Stamberg. Stamberg enjoyed the performance so much that Carlson was asked for an interview to be aired on the nationally syndicated radio program Weekend Edition Saturday. Recently producer/director Gary Marshall heard Carlson during the filming of his comedy, Runaway Bride, and though he was unable to get them into the film on time, her group Denise and DeNephews are mentioned in the picture.

Free and open to the public, the concert is sponsored by the Salisbury State University Cultural Affairs Council. For information call SSU’s Public Relations Office at 410-543-6030.