Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

AT THE BASIE: A MULTITUDE OF VOICES

nancyscharff-493x319Middletown’s Nancy Scharff — and a heavenly host of helpers — present their annual celebration of Christmas in words and music Friday at the Count Basie Theatre.

As the founder of Nancy Scharff Ministries, Middletown-based Christian music artist Nancy Scharff is a globe-trotting singer-songwriter, choirmaster, music educator, producer, conductor, facilitator and a shepherdess tending her flock — so there’s no question she can be a one-woman show when the situation warrants.

But when the curtain goes up on the Count Basie stage this Friday night, December 16, the celebration entitled Nancy Scharff: Christmas — The Gift of Love teams the diminutive dynamo with an orchestra of 16 players, a six-piece contemporary Christian pop band, an ecumenical choir (featuring, in past performances, some 65 voices), an all-star gospel ensemble, a children’s choir that’s numbered as many as 80 kids — plus “Three Tenors” tenoring, and some two dozen bell choir ringers ringing.

Do the math and it tallies up to nearly 200 performers — a total that doesn’t even take into consideration the expected opportunities for the audience to get into the act.

But in this fifth annual edition of a Red Bank tradition that began in 2007 with Make Room in Your Heart, it’s all about the positive energy and the good things that happen when an all-volunteer interdenominational group of Monmouth County people does something nice for their neediest neighbors.

“We go to Brownie troops, all different church groups — anywhere it’s possible to reach people,” says the lifelong Middletown resident and longtime music director at King of Kings Lutheran Church, who first performed her own self-penned songs in public at the New Monmouth house of worship.

Scharff, who’s also taught at Red Bank’s Monmouth Conservatory Of Music and the Count Basie Performing Arts Academy, has credited the response and encouragement of her fellow King of Kings congregants as the impetus that led her to pursue a career in contemporary worship music — a journey that’s taken her from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to Hawaii, Italy, the UK, Australia, South Africa (where she sang before a mega-congregation of more than 3000 people) and Jerusalem.

The autumn months find Scharff sticking close to home — rehearsing each component of the Christmas program separately as she draws a cohesive presentation together from many disparate sources. It’s a process that she repeats on a slightly smaller but no less detail-intensive scale every July, with her annual Patriotic Concert at her Middletown homebase.

With tenors Tony Buonarro, Thomas Bethman and James Gafgen as special guests, Friday’s program is scheduled to mix such traditional carols as “O Holy Night” and “Joy to the World” with Scharff originals and other contemporary compositions.

As has been the case for the past several years, proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the greater Red Bank area chapter of Love INC. (Love In the Name of Christ), a nationwide organization that helps the homeless and impoverished achieve stability and self-reliance. The show will also benefit local food banks, with attendees encouraged to bring in non-perishable food items. Tickets for the 7:30pm show are priced from $15 to $25, and can be reserved right here.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
RED TRUCKS AT RED ROCK
A small dishwasher fire at Red Rock Tap and Grill was put out quickly by firefighters overnight, causing minimal damage. Red Bank Fire Depar ...
CREATIVE COVER UP
The windows of Pearl Street Consignment on Monmouth Street were smashed when a driver crashed their car through them injuring an employee la ...
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...