The Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame (RIMHOF) has announced its 2024 inductees. The four new members will be Harry Allen, Dr. George Kent, Shawnn Monteiro, and Daryl Sherman.
It was also announced that this year’s induction ceremonies and concert events will take place on two days – April 28 and May 19 – as RIMHOF celebrates its tenth induction season.
“During the last twelve years, the Music Hall of Fame initiative has provided our state with a great opportunity to acknowledge Rhode Island’s musical greats and celebrate their achievements. The organization’s primary goal is to promote and preserve our state’s rich musical heritage,” says Rick Bellaire, vice chair of RIMHOF. “Even while pandemic restrictions made live induction events impossible, work has continued on the Hall of Fame’s Music Archive which is a vital part of our mission.”
Sunday’s April 28 event will include the Unveiling Ceremony for all four 2024 RIMHOF Inductee exhibits. The ceremony occurs at 1:00 p.m. in the Hall of Fame, located within the Hope Artiste Village complex, 999 Main St., Pawtucket, RI. The Induction concert takes place at The Met at 2:00 p.m. Jazz vocalist and pianist Daryl Sherman will perform selections from the Great American Songbook, which have been featured on her many albums. Jazz vocalist and music educator Shawnn Monteiro will present classics from her highly popular jazz repertoire with blues-oriented improvisations. Jazz saxophonist Harry Allen will draw from his vast and varied repertoire of more than 100 albums. An all-star trio of piano, bass, and drums will join the three inductees.
The 1 p.m. unveiling of the inductee exhibits is free and open to the public; a ticket will be required for entrance to the 2 p.m. concert in The Met, Hope Artiste Village, 999 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI. Tickets are $25.00 for general admission and will go on sale February 8 at at www.themetri.com
The induction ceremony and concert for music educator, organist, and founder of the Chorus of Westerly, Dr. George Kent, will take place Sunday, May 19, at 3:00 p.m. during a performance of Mozart’s Mass in C minor by the Chorus at the George Kent Performance Hall, 119 High Street, Westerly, RI. Reserved tickets are on sale at www.chorusofwesterly.org/season65
The Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame, formed in 2011, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating, honoring, and preserving the legacy of Rhode Island musicians, educators and industry professionals who have significantly contributed to the national and Rhode Island music scene. Since 2012, the public has seen 79 displays unveiled honoring the inductees in the museum space in Hope Artiste Village’s hallways. This year’s induction ceremony will see four more displays unveiled celebrating the 2024 inductees, bringing the total to 83 inductee exhibits. Eventually, the museum will hold more than 100 displays for visitors to enjoy.
All proceeds from RIMHOF’s annual induction events go toward creating the museum displays, acquiring recordings and memorabilia, and digitizing that collection for permanent online access for future generations. All organizational work has been donated by members of the Board Of Directors and a small staff of volunteers.
Robert Billington, Chair of RIMHOF noted, “The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and concerts have become the place to be and be seen at as we continue to showcase the fascinating history of Rhode Island’s musical heroes. The events are a virtual ‘who’s who’ of Rhode Island music history.”
For general information, visit www.RhodeIslandMusicHallofFame.com
2024 RHODE ISLAND MUSIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
HARRY ALLEN
Before he’d even earned his music degree from Rutgers University, tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, of Burrillville, had studied with Art Pelosi and Ted Casher in Rhode Island, absorbed the recordings of Paul Gonsalves and Scott Hamilton, made the McDonald’s All-American High School Jazz Band, performed with Major Holley, George Masso, Ruby Braff and Bucky Pizzarelli, and made his first major label recording with Kenny Barron for Sony. His first album as a leader, 1988’s How Long Has This Been Going On?, placed him squarely on the international jazz map as a deeply-rooted, highly knowledgeable player with an improvisational style all his own. He has recorded in a wide variety of settings and styles and has more than 100 critically acclaimed albums in his discography including 70+ as a leader or co-leader. Harry enjoys an avid international fanbase and continues to tour the world.
DR. GEORGE KENT
In 1959, while still a graduate student at the New England Conservatory, George Kent, organist and choirmaster at Christ Church, Westerly founded the Community Chorus of Westerly. With 100 voices – men, women and children –- it is one of the few such community groups to include singers of all ages. Dr. Kent led the Chorus for 53 years, retiring in 2012. He was also a full time Professor of Music at the University of Rhode Island teaching trumpet, organ, and directing choral ensembles, retiring in 2019. In the 1960s and ’70s he was Assistant Conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic under Music Director Francis Madeira, leading the orchestra in pops and public school outreach concerts. Dr. Kent made three LPs of Baroque trumpet music for the Nonesuch label playing organ for renowned Swiss based trumpeter Edward Tarr and touring the world to promote the albums. Dr. Kent’s honors include the R.I. Governor’s Arts Award, a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, from the General Theological Seminary, N.Y., and a Doctor of Sacred Music, honoris causa, from St. Dunstan’s College of Sacred Music, Providence. Throughout his career two things have remained constant: leading the choir for Sunday services at Christ Church as he has ever since he was an undergraduate student at URI in the early 1950s (as part the second class of URI music majors), and his love of the open sea as evidenced by his 50 years as a commercial lobsterman.
SHAWNN MONTEIRO
In the early 1970s while working at a club in San Jose, CA, vocalist and percussionist Shawnn Monteiro was discovered by Afro/Cuban jazz pioneer Mongo Santamaria. She joined his band for three years then launched her solo career focusing on her jazz roots. She settled down in Rhode Island and began touring nationally. Then her father, renowned bassist Jimmy Woode, introduced her to the European jazz community and she’s never looked back. Since 1993, she has recorded seven albums as a leader or co-leader, toured throughout the U.S. and Europe, and even performed in Siberia! Shawnn is also a dedicated and beloved music educator who shares her artistry, techniques and knowledge with students all over the world. She has been an adjunct professor at Rhode Island College and the University of Hartford and has been teaching ongoing Master Vocal Classes in Rome and Genoa, Italy since 1995.
DARYL SHERMAN
By the time singer-pianist Daryl Sherman, of Woonsocket, arrived in New York in the mid-1970s to take her place on the Manhattan jazz scene, her unique, swinging style was already fully-formed. She was brought up on jazz by her trombonist father Sammy Sherman and was deeply influenced by the sophisticated vocal stylings of Mildred Bailey and the sweetly swinging Blossom Dearie. She was soon appearing at places like Jilly’s and the Algonquin Oak Room and had a 14-year run at the Waldorf-Astoria. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the Great American Songbook opened the door to a recording career which includes 15 albums as a leader or co-leader. Collaborators include Dick Hyman, John Pizzarelli, and Wynton Marsalis & The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Daryl continues to tour and enjoys avid fanbases in England, Germany and Japan.