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New Castle resident Dennis Neil Kleinman, an award-winning songwriter best known for the theme to the long-running PBS children's show Reading Rainbow, will be giving a concert of original material on Friday, November 5, at the Seacoast Science Center.  (see details below)  

Joining Mr. Kleinman on several of the numbers will be popular Portsmouth-based soprano Angelynne Hinson.  All proceeds from the concert will go to support the Science Center's educational programs.   

Kleinman’s songwriting career began while he was still in high school in Cleveland, Ohio.  A local band had won a contract with Mainstream Records, the label that first recorded Janis Joplin, and turned to him for original material.  The album went nowhere, but the experience helped foster a lifelong passion for combining words with music.  

Since then, he has written over a hundred songs, a number of which have appeared on television, in videos, and been recorded by artists like Bobby McFerrin and Phoebe Snow. Kleinman eventually segued from writing songs to writing and producing documentaries for the History Channel and National Geographic.  But he still prefers his words sung to music, and he is excited by the opportunity to revisit some old favorites and share them with a new audience.  

The songs cover a wide range of styles and emotions, from a Gershwin-esque ballad about reading a newspaper entitled “Times On Your Hands”, to a raucous honky-tonk called “I’m the Life of the Party (and It’s Gonna Be the Death of Me)”.  Many of the songs have a humorous lean to them, though they are more often than not trying to make a serious point.  

The concert begins at 8pm with drinks & hors d'ouerves at 7.  Admission is $20 at the door.  Those interested in attending are asked to call 603-812-1770 to RSVP.