The Isaac Dickson Community in Asheville NC is proud to present “Seth’s Playground,” a benefit CD featuring the music of Billy Jonas, Timmy Abell, David LaMotte, Chris Rosser, Mad Tea Party, and other artists from the Asheville area. The project is a memorial to Seth Olson, a teacher at Isaac Dickson Elementary School, who died suddenly in November 2005 at age 22.
Asheville-based wunderkind recording engineer and producer Adam Johnson produced the project. Adam has worked with a number of well known performers across a broad range of genres, including David Holt, Doc Watson, Alison Krauss, and James McMurtry, to name just a few. For this project, Adam donated all of the studio time, as well as his services as producer and recording engineer.
Adam, who was a classmate and friend of Seth’s at Issac Dickson, recorded and produced five brand new tracks, especially for the project. Those tracks include new songs by: Billy Jonas, the Issac Dickson Chorus, Penny White and the JCC Singers, Bill Melanson, and Ben Scales. These newly recorded tracks include performances graciously donated by: Eliot Wadopian, Cate Scales, Jim Taylor, the Embe Marimba Band, Sue Ford, Chris Thompson, Dan Brewer, Rita Hayes, Geri Littlejohn, and River Guerguerian.
Other tracks were donated to the project by: David LaMotte, Miriam Allen, Billy Jonas, Timmy Abell, Ralph Blizard and the New Southern Ramblers, The Buckerettes, Jim Taylor, Mad Tea Party, and Chris Rosser.
John Warner donated the photography. Robert Haden of Haden Design donated the graphic design. Stephen Smith of Soundsmiths Mastering, Inc. donated the mastering. Sonopress LLC donated the printing and manufacturing. The project was the brainchild of Matt Buys, and he served as executive producer.
Seth, who had just begun his first year as a full-time kindergarten teacher, had been a student at Isaac Dickson, where his mother, Susan Shillcock, has taught for 16 years. After Seth’s untimely death from a viral heart infection, the new playground being planned for the school was named the “Seth Olson Playground.” Seth loved kids and was excited about finally getting his own class.
In addition to being a teacher, Seth was a summer camp counselor at the Asheville Jewish Community Center ("JCC") for many years. Seth's energetic teaching style often incorporated music, and his favorite song at the JCC was "Oseh Shalom," a song for peace from the Hebrew liturgy. Whenever Seth was away from camp, his campers would sing the song with even greater ruach (spirit) hoping Seth would hear them wherever he was. Fittingly, JCC Songleader Penny White, and a group of Seth's campers, their families, fellow counselors and friends from the JCC performed Oseh Shalom in Seth's memory, which was recorded and produced by Adam Johnson and included on this CD.
Please visit us on the web at www.experiencetheplayground.com to learn more about this exciting community project.
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