This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 17, 2010 - Mark Holland and his band, Autumn's Child, celebrate the release of the group's latest CD, "Balance," at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 19 at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Holland, whose musical focus is playing Native American flutes, first formed Autumn's Child 15 years ago. He sees the new recording as another evolutionary step in the band's development -- and Holland's explorations of the native American flute's range and style.
"The journey with the flute and this music has led me along the way one step at a time," states Holland. "I'm just trying to stay true to what I am hearing, and trying to create to share with others. To me, this CD is a logical step up in the progression of maturity that I'm would hope to strive for and achieve."
The title of the new recording, "Balance," has a special meaning for Holland as well in terms of what he's trying to achieve with his music -- in terms of the variety of compositions and musical instruments on the CD.
"Balance is key in every area of life," says Holland. "This includes music, of course. The balance found in this new album is basically groove-oriented songs juxtaposed with some meditational compositions. I feel 'Balance' is very strong compositionally as well as in terms of the performances and also the recording itself. There are some really nice musical journeys that take place here."
Holland is also pleased about the talent of the musicians he was able to bring together for the recording ... and the varied instrumentation on "Balance." And many of those musicians will be appearing on stage at the Sheldon for the CD release concert.
"The musicians on this CD are wonderful," says Holland. "Ranya Iqbal plays cello, Billy Engel is on guitar, R. Scott Bryan plays percussion, Cory Edwards is on piano, Marc Torlina plays bass, Terri Langerak adds harp, Peter Mayer adds guitar and vocals and Scott Kennedy and Anne Goold play singing bowls and gongs. Everyone except Terri, Peter, Scott and Anne will be playing Tuesday at the Sheldon."
According to Holland the first set of Tuesday's concert at the Sheldon will focus on music from "Balance." The second set will feature Autumn's Child playing arrangements of songs by the Who, Led Zeppelin, the Moody Blues, Blind Faith and others.
Reserved seat tickets for Tuesday's CD release concert at the Sheldon are on sale through MetroTix for $10 and are $15 at the door. The new CD will be on sale at the event for $10, and Holland will also give away a couple of flutes that night.
Terry Perkins is a freelance writer whose work includes the music scene in the area.