FRYEBURG – The Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center’s Bradley Backstage Concert Series presents “Encounters in Sound,” a series of musical collaborations featuring piano phenom Jed Wilson and special guests. Wilson will be accompanied by a diverse lineup of acclaimed musicians ranging from Celtic harpists to jazz vocalists. The first concert of the series, featuring jazz guitarist Gary Wittner, takes place on Friday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m.

Gary Wittner began playing guitar at age 9. As a youth he had a deep affinity for the blues and was drawn to the music of rural blues artists such as Lightning Hopkins and Big Bill Broonzy. In college, Wittner’s music became the major focus of his life, and when he heard the music of Thelonious Monk it was love at first sound. He enrolled at the Berklee College of Music where he began studying and transcribing Monk’s music in earnest.

Graduating in 1981, Wittner moved to Colorado where he began performing all-Monk concerts. Since 1997, Wittner  has divided his time between New York City, where he performs and teaches privately, and Maine where he is a part time jazz guitar/ensemble instructor at the University of Southern Maine, Bowdoin College, and Lincoln Academy.

Outside of the university, he continues to develop his presentations on the music and life of Thelonious Monk. To date, he has presented this program at clubs and universities throughout the U.S. and in Canada, Poland, Russia, England, Wales, Austria, France, and South Africa. Wittner has been a featured artist in concerts with Christian McBride, Reggie Workman, Richard Davis, Eddie Gomez, Clark Terry, Art Lande, among others.

Bradley Backstage seats the audience on stage with the performers, creating a much more intimate and unforgettable live concert experience. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students. Series package tickets, which includes admission into all six concerts for the price of five, will be available through April 22. Tickets can be ordered tickets online at www.fryeburgacademy.org/pac or by calling the box office at 207-935-9232. Tickets will also be available at the door. The LHE/PAC is located at 18 Bradley St., Fryeburg.