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Press Release 10/11/12 Classical pianist and folk/roots side-woman Bethany Brooks will release her unique and important new CD "Quarry Street Hymnal Volume 1" at 8pm on November 1, 2012. Brooks's music career is as deep as it is diverse. Bethany holds her masters in piano performance from The Royal Academy of Music in London and has performed as a soloist and collaborative artist in Philadelphia, New York, London, Mexico City, Odessa, Istanbul and eastern Hungary. Brooks has a classical chamber duo and is an active participant in the Philadelphia roots & rock music scene, playing and singing in numerous well - regarded projects and bands. She currently serves as Director of Musical Worship at City Church in West Philadelphia. Quarry Street Hymnal is the product of more than 15 years of writing new music for old hymn texts. Bethany began composing new music to these historic texts as a senior in high school with the hope of exposing audiences to obscure texts by putting them into an original folk-classical style. She is now part of what is sometimes referred to as the 'retuned hymn movement,' in which groups around the country put out recordings and song books with old hymn texts set to new music, usually in a pop or folk idiom, frequently more guitar-friendly and upbeat than the original settings. The group Indelible Grace, founded by Kevin Twit, has become especially well-known, and their arrangements are widely used by churches and university groups. Other notable retuned hymn sources include Red Mountain Music, City Hymns, and Bifrost Arts. The musical richness of Quarry Street Hymnal Volume 1 will certainly constitute a significant contribution to this movement. The Quarry Street Hymnal project began in 2009 at Turtle Studios in Philadelphia. Volume 1, produced by Jeff Hiatt, and involving many familiar names from Philadelphia's roots music scene (Fred Berman/Amos Lee Drummer, Wissahickon Chicken Shack, and more) is now ready to be introduced to the public. Bethany's deep knowledge of the hymns, pristine vocals and the joy that is expressed through these ancient words make this a CD to be delighted in, enjoyed and shared.
