Theme: Music Appreciation

This TEDxDoverSalon event focuses on different aspects of music.

Dover Downs
1131 N Dupont Hwy
Dover, Delaware, 19901
United States

Chris Cromer

Owner, A minor Tune Up Trumpet & Brasswind Services

Chris Cromer is the owner of A minor Tune Up Trumpet & Brasswind Services in Wilmington, DE. Having been a musician for over 30 years & working in the brass instrument repair & fabrication industry for 16 years he's gained a wealth of experience & knowledge about music, business & music as a business. Chris first sparked a passion in music as a kid with long hair, an earring & a guitar, loving heavy metal music. Eventually the guitar became a trumpet & Delaware became California where he moved at age 19 to join and elite world champion brass group that would soon open up a path to his career & purpose in life.

Jonathan Whitney

Artistic Director at Delaware Institute for Arts in Education

Jonathan Whitney received his bachelor’s degree in music education University of Delaware, and his masters of music in jazz studies from the University of the Arts. Over the last 20 years Jonathan as taught music in a variety of situations from grade schools to colleges. He has also worked as a composer/arranger for many organizations including Brandywine High School, Shepherd University, and the Wilmington Children’s Chorus. Jonathan has performed with a variety of artists including Linda Clifford, Pamela Stanley, the Chantels, the Ellen Lebowitz Quartet, the Don Glanden Trio, the Lansdowne Symphony, and the Wilmington Children’s Chorus, along with performing with his own ensembles. He is currently the artistic director of the Delaware Institute for Arts in Eduction and the artist-in-residence at the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew in Wilmington Delaware.

Kate Quinn

Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs, Penn Museum

Kate Quinn is a museum storyteller who believes in democratizing scholarly content for educationally and economically diverse audiences. She is the Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs for the Penn Museum (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) in Philadelphia, where she leads the planning and implementation for special exhibitions, gallery projects, and public programs. Kate has led multidisciplinary teams to present hundreds of public programs for diverse audiences annually, and create over 75 exhibitions– many of which have won awards and received international recognition. She holds a BA in theatre, an MFA in museum studies, certificates in museum leadership from the Getty Leadership Institute, Wharton School of Business and National Arts Strategies, and is an affiliated fellow with the American Academy in Rome. Kate lives in Philadelphia and enjoys traveling to new locations.

Nalani & Sarina

Musicians

For a couple of "Jersey Girls", Nalani & Sarina have already made their mark on the Delaware music scene in rapid fashion. The identical twin sisters, who hail from Flemington, have been playing, singing and writing together since they were kids, and their smart, dynamic live show has made them favorites on the Northeastern club circuit. In Delaware, they have become fixtures in the Wilmington music scene, recently headlining the Wilmington Flower Market's opening night, as well as sharing in-state bills with A Great Big World, Mary Lambert, and many others. WSTW (Wilmington) honored them with two "Homey" awards and they were featured performers at the 2017 Hometown Heroes ceremony. Later this summer, they will be performing at both the LadyBug Festival (5th consecutive year) and making their debut appearance at the Wilmington People's Festival. Nalani & Sarina are proud to be a part of this music-centric TEDx talk and hope to offer insights into their creative process.

Rob Tietze

Musician

Ever since he can remember, Rob has been enthralled by the guitar. At age seven he began writing songs on an old tennis racket and a metal zither, formed his first band (The Beatniks), recorded his own songs on a Panasonic cassette and performed for the neighborhood. Years later he acquired his first real guitar and continued the journey that has included studying with guitar luminaries such as Alex DeGrassi, Pierre Bensusan, Russ Barrenberg, David Surrett and Wilmington jazz guitarist, Judith Kay. He placed 2nd in the Martin Guitar Fingerstyle Competition and performing in a variety of venues as far away as Australia, New Zealand and Europe. This summer he begins work on recording original compositions for solo guitar and plays with acoustic roots trio, Gun Powder Lane.. Rob is also an accomplished stage actor, performing in numerous productions of Shakespeare and as a member of a Commedia del Arte theater troupe, for which he also wrote the lyrics and music.

Todd Breck

Musician

Todd found a harmonica on the floor in high school and never stopped playing it. In college he started playing guitar as part of a duet performing Spanish folk songs and was one of the founders of the Tranquillizers, a men’s a capella group. After college Todd started the first Wilmington coffee house, The Attic, on Orange St. He continued with his music as a co-founder of Whirled Peas, acoustic musicians, who have been together for well over 15 years, have recorded 4 CDs, and play throughout the Delaware Valley. At 79 years young, Todd is a prolific songwriter and recorded a CD of all original material in Nashville last year as well a new CD as part of Gunpowder Lane. In addition to guitar, Todd plays a mean mandolin and is a highly regarded harmonica player and is patiently awaiting his custom-made bouzouki to be finished so he can add that to his repertoire.