Berks guitarist David Cullen releasing new album; five shows announced for Santander venues [Spotlight]

Jan. 15—After a 15-year absence from solo recording, local guitarist and Grammy-winner David Cullen is releasing a new album called "Revival" on Friday.

The 12-track album showcases Cullen's talents across a wide variety of tunes, covering all manner of moods, tempos and styles. "Revival" celebrates the wonderful music that a single guitar can make when in the hands of a masterclass musician.

Between 1999 and 2008, Cullen appeared on and/or released 10 albums.

He performed "The Days of Wine and Roses" on the 2004 Grammy-winning album "Pink Guitar," a compilation of famous film composer Henry Mancini's many memorable compositions.

Other collaborations include with his wife, Jill Haley, a world class oboist and English horn artist, on her widely acclaimed series of National Park recordings, and "Woodsongs," which also features fellow acoustic guitarists Will Ackerman, Alex deGrassi and Preston Reed.

In 2008, he began appearing with the Philly Pops, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra. All this time, he was also involved with teaching music. Currently, he teaches at West Chester University, Millersville University and Elizabethtown College.

The new album's title references a rebirth of Cullen's solo recording career, somewhat influenced by a particular purchase.

"I purchased a Jeffrey Elliott Classical Guitar in 2021," he said. "It is a wonderful instrument. It took about a year to get comfortable with it. Once that happened the tunes from "Revival" came pouring out. I decided it was time to do a solo recording".

In the album's liner notes, Cullen writes: "I had a wonderful REVIVAL on a memorable, sun-drenched afternoon this past May. Ten

tunes from this project came pouring out in two hours. I truly don't know where they all came from, but it was what some folks call a flow state or effortless attention. I hope that you will be able to experience your own REVIVAL as you listen."

Cullen's recordings are available on his website, cullenguitar.com, as well as from iTunes and Amazon. His music is available to stream on Pandora and Spotify.

Events

Five new shows have been announced for Santander Arena and the Santander Performing Arts Center in downtown Reading:

—Latin Grammy-winning and Grammy nominated Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Rauw Alejandro will return to Santander Arena on March 15 as part of the "Saturno World Tour 2023." Alejandro has been leading the new generation of Latin music artists since he appeared on the scene in 2017. Many of his hits have attained Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum certifications.

—Bruce-O-Rama, featuring Bruce Campbell, best known for portraying Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" franchise, is coming to the Santander Performing Arts Center on April 12. The event includes an interactive game show created for fans of pop culture, testing the audience's knowledge of fantasy, horror, sci-fi, superheroes and gaming, and a screening of one of Campbell's films.

—Comedian Phil Rosenthal, star of the Netflix series "Somebody Feed Phil," will perform March 10 at the Santander Performing Arts Center.

—The South Korean boy band CIX will perform on March 12 at Santander Arena.

—Whose Live Anyway?, a night of improvised comedy and song all based on audience suggestions, featuring current cast members of the Emmy-nominated TV show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," will come to the Santander Performing Arts Center on April 26.

For more information on these and other upcoming shows, see santander-arena.com.

Books

John C. Morgan, whose "Everyday Ethics" column appears in the Reading Eagle, has released a new book titled "Everyday Wisdom: A Guide to a Better, Deeper Life," available on amazon.com.

In the book, the writer and retired philosophy and ethics teacher provides 40 ways to live a deeper and more meaningful life, which he collected over the years from both students in his classes and congregations he served. Written clearly in short essays, Morgan offers pathways for finding your best self, including how to be more loving, peaceful and intentional.

This book offers ways to create your book of life and keep a journal along the way, thus putting into daily practice what you value.

Morgan's previous releases include "Letters Facing Death," "Psychology of Death and Dying," "The Devotional Heart," "Thin Places," "Resisting Tyranny," "A Teacher, His Students and the Great Questions of Life," "Daybreak and Eventide" and "Awakening the Soul — A Book of Daily Devotions"

----Berks County author Anthony "Tony" Maize has released his first collection of short stories, "The Arlington Club & Other Short Stories," available at pretzelcitypress.com and amazon.com.

The book is described as follows: "Anthony Maize's first anthology of short stories leads readers to encounter themes of justice, love, lust, labor, redemption, retribution, fear, ghosts, and the spirit world. Some of Maize's characters exist in interiority, in solitude, as in 'The Cave,' interacting only with nature, memories, and a dog named Sue. Others meet in what can only be described as serendipitous good fortune, like the vagabond Bosco Jones and the elderly Miz Thibodaux (Maisy) who gives Bosco shelter, food, and clothing. With a photographer's keen eye and a writer's love affair with words, Maize paints compelling portraits of human interactions and relationships, powerfully brushed by rich descriptions of the natural world."

Maize began writing fiction for his own amusement while still in high school. His short stories "Bosco Jones" and "Patty and Gert" were previously published in Evening Street Review. A member of the original Bold Writers group in Reading, he has been a featured author in public readings, including at Albright College.

Like all Pretzel City Press books, a charity has been designated to receive $1 for every book sold, in this case the Salvation Army of Reading.

The author plans to offer public readings of his stories throughout the coming year on local media and at libraries, book clubs and universities.