Shaw Brothers concert at The Music Hall will benefit cancer research

Music is good for your health. That’s especially true of the upcoming Shaw Brothers concert at the Music Hall. All proceeds from the concert will go toward researching ovarian cancer at the Harvard Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Local restaurateur Sam Jarvis, former owner of The Metro, is producing the concert, in which the Shaw Brothers will perform their unique blend of traditional and contemporary music, interspersed with poems, humor and stories. 

Before owning The Metro, Jarvis ran the Market Street Pub in downtown Portsmouth. Live entertainment was a regular feature at the pub, and Jarvis often booked The Shaw Brothers.

“The Shaw Brothers and I have been friends for many years,” Jarvis said in a recent interview with The Wire.

When Jarvis retired from the restaurant industry last December, his friends threw him a party. Rick and Ron Shaw were supposed to perform at the party, but they were on tour in Florida when the celebration took place. To make up for their absence, the Shaw Brothers offered Jarvis a free future performance, and he is now cashing in on their promise. “I wanted to do something so that many people could attend and all the proceeds would go towards research (for ovarian cancer,)” he said.

Jarvis’ wife, Katherine, died of ovarian cancer several years ago. Jarvis established the Katherine L. Jarvis Research Fund at Harvard Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in her memory.

In addition to the Shaw Brothers, the concert will feature the Portsmouth Middle School choir. Jarvis called this portion of the show the “finale of the concert.” Although he was hesitant to reveal what songs would be performed, Jarvis disclosed that the audience would have a chance to sing along with the choir.

“That is going to be an important part of it,” he said.

The mistress of ceremony will be former UNH interim president J. Bonnie Newman, a close friend of Jarvis’. Her appearance will “add some nice pizzazz to the event, because Bonnie is well respected,” Jarvis said. 

Other friends and acquaintances have offered their help, as well.

“Expenses have been kept at a minimum because of so many wonderful people that have contributed. It’s a big undertaking, but we have a wonderful working committee. We’re putting this on with thin pockets so that we can end up giving the researchers what they deserve,” he said. “We elected to have it at The Music Hall because that was the most suitable place that offered the ambience that we wanted. We’ve had a good response and wonderful response from a list of sponsors.”   

Rick and Ron Shaw are identical twins who were born and raised in New Hampshire. They have been performing for more than 40 years in the Granite State, across the country and throughout the world. Late N.H. Gov. Hugh J. Gallen dubbed the brothers “New Hampshire’s musical ambassadors to the world.” The Shaw Brothers’ recent composition, “New Hampshire Naturally,” has been officially designated as a state song. The pair was recently commissioned to compose and perform a song for a segment of the television show Candid Camera.

Cancer research is an important cause for Jarvis. He has consistently supported the research since his wife passed away in 1978, and he hopes a cure will be found in the near future. “Some fine day, somewhere on this earth, an answer will come up. And we’ll just keep striving until that day comes. I look forward to a good event and a very profitable one for the cause,” he said. 

The concert is on Sunday, September 30, at 3 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Music Hall. A VIP reception will be held with the Shaw Brothers at Rudi’s, formally The Metro, following the show.

For more information, visit www.themusichall.org.