PS 130 Parents Headline Friday Night Musical Extravaganza

The path from Lascivious Biddy to PTA Mom is not immediately apparent, but Deidre Rodman Struck connects the dots with far fewer than six degrees of separation, ending up at the Second Annual Music Festival to benefit PS 130 in Kensington.

The benefit is scheduled for 6:30pm this Friday at the new Upper School Building at 713 Caton Avenue.

Struck was one of the founding members of the Lascivious Biddies, a group that blends pop, jazz and cabaret to earn the title “Manhattan’s hippest Girl Group” from the Washington Post. They logged several years of performing live and on television and radio (including a cash-less ride in the Cash Cab) before receiving a grant from the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall to create a version of their act for children.

Serendipitously, the offer arrived shortly after Struck and one of her bandmates, Saskia Lane, had become mothers themselves. The group began writing original music and performing as the Itty Biddies and have released an album of family-friendly songs under that name.

Struck’s daughter, born alongside the Itty Biddies, provides the direct connection to PS 130 and the festival. “She’s a first grader there,” Struck said, “and I have another daughter entering Pre-K there in the fall.”

“We are lucky to have a great Music Committee, most of whom I am friends with from our vibrant neighborhood music community,” she explained. “Bennett Paster is helping lead the brigade and invited a diverse group of us to perform, and I was thrilled to say yes!”

Admission to the Music Festival is free, but donations will be accepted to benefit PS 130’s music and arts programming. The PS 130 PTA Music Committee supports music education at the school and brings visiting artists directly into classrooms. This year’s roster of visiting high-profile teaching artists includes JD Allen, Jaimeo Brown, Martha Redbone and Min Xiao-Fen.

The festival lineup includes both professional and amateur parent-musicians — both the unique nature of the school and the neighborhood contribute to keeping the amateur performers way above the “I-sing-in-the-shower” level of expertise.

“The school is dedicated to arts education and partners with such organizations as Arts Connections and Carnegie Hall, so I think that does draw people in,” Struck said, explaining how a school with around 700 students includes so many musically-inclined parents. “But I also find Kensington to be a very artistic neighborhood in general.”

PS 130 is dedicated to keeping music in the classroom. The school added a second music teacher to the faculty this year and all students receive general music instruction, including three years of keyboard study.

In addition to the impressive quality of the performers, the Festival includes considerable diversity, promising musical styles ranging from ”Appalachian to Latin folk, traditional Bengali song to blues, Brazilian jazz to classic rock.”

“It is a very collaborative affair, with a house band backing up solo acts,” Struck explained, “as well as some group numbers. Each act will do one song to keep things flowing.” The band is anchored by guest drummer Eric Halvorson, who is well known as a Broadway, session and touring artist, and leads his own band, 718.

In addition to Halvorson and Struck, scheduled performers include singer-songwriter Debbie Deane, heavy metal bassist Paul LaPlaca, vocalist Victoria Lavington, bassist John Montagna, Robby O’Sullivan of the Strung Out String Band, jazz pianist Bennet Paster, the latin jazz band Don Rodriguez Gomez Rosa, classical soprano Eleanor Taylor, double-bassist Jim Whitney and pianist Eldad Zvulun.

According to Struck, a festival showcasing the talents of caring parents and a diverse range of styles is the perfect expression of the school. ”PS130 is lucky to have different cultures as part of the community, so those will also be represented at the music festival,” she said.

“Kensington feels like a small town to me,” Struck said. “Every day I see fellow parents and neighbors at Steeplechase or Hamilton’s, or just walking down the street. I actually know a lot of my neighbors and can call them to borrow a cup of sugar, or to pick up my child from daycare in case of emergency, and I think that’s a very special thing about living here.”

“PS130 fosters this kind of community as well,” she added. “So it’s common after dropoffs in the morning to see parents staying and chatting outside by the butterfly garden, or heading to have coffee together. It feels very welcoming.”