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Blowing Rock Monday Night Concert Series Presents Amy Marie Young, Shanon Venable and Steve Sensenig on July 22

by Becky Petchenik

July 19, 2013 On July 22, Blowing Rock’s Monday Night Concert Series will host Amy Marie Young, progenitor of the yearly event, cabaret singer Shanon Venable and Barter Theatre music director and pianist Steve Sensenig. The event takes place at the Broyhill Park off of Clark Street in Blowing Rock. Concerts begin at 7 p.m. and are always free.  Because the park is lawn seating only, audiences are encouraged to bring law chairs and blankets for their comfort.

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Young established the Monday Night Concert Series 14 years ago, and it is still going strong with performances every summer.  Created as a reaction to the closing of the Farm House Inn and Restaurant known for its employment of local musicians and Appalachian Music Department students, the yearly event hosts alumni of the Farm House Inn as well as new and emerging local musicians. The goal of the series is to continue the tradition of cabaret-style music in the style of the Farm House, which closed in 1997, for residents of the High Country and tourists alike.

Young recently relocated back to the United States after a three year stint teaching music in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  She holds a Master’s of Music from ASU and an impressive list of accomplishments including stage performance for Opera North East, Appalachian State Univeristy and Green Room & Lenoir Rhyne Summer Theatre. She will be the Musical Director for the Blowing Rock Methodist Church for their 2013 Summer Season. Both Young and Venable are Farm House alumni and attended ASU for classical voice.  

Sensenig accepted a position in 2006 as an adjunct faculty member of the Hayes School of music at ASU.  He has played classical piano since the age of 3 and played with Christian contemporary trio Phillips, Craig and Dean (PCD), Selah Piano Trio featuring fellow faculty member Jacob Dakon on violin and student Todd St. Amand on cello, Felix Mendelssohn and as a coach for the Opera Workshop acting as music director for their production of Kurt Weill’s “Street Scene” in the spring of 2008.  Sensenig and his wife and children live in a motorhome and travel across the US.  He is currently pursuing a new form of jazz performance holding concerts in people’s homes.