The

coffehouse scene has always been a haven for poets,

pundits and performers, from the days when

revolutionaries would gather to discuss new political

movements, to the days when Alan Ginsburg and Jack

Kerouac would take the stage to ooze their musical

vocabulary into the audience's mind.

Friday,

Starbucks in the Fayetteville Pavilion will become the

setting for another performer, Steven Karp, violinist and

Delta mechanic.

Karp, 43,

from Fayetteville, was reared in Cincinatti and has been

playing the violin since he was 9 years old. His family

was very musically oriented and bred a love for classical

music in him at a very young age. "One of the first

pieces I heard was from Yasha Heifetz," Karp said.

"I thought, `Wow, what a beautiful sounding

instrument.'"

Other

pieces that stirred him during his formative years were

the violin concertos of Brahms and Beethoven. The musical

gene may also have come from his grandmother who was a

professional organist. Regardless, once he started taking

lessons, he was hooked.

In 1973,

Karp began taking lessons at the College Conservatory of

Music at the University of Cincinatti. He followed the

teachings there with classes in Ohio University's School

of Music. Soon after, though, Karp would fall in love

with his soon-to-be wife, Karen, and a life of music

would not be enough to support a family. Karp enlisted in

the Air Force in 1980 and studied avionics, which is the

study of aviation and electronics. After two enlistments,

Karp left the Air Force, moved to Fayetteville and began

his career as a mechanic for Delta.

"During

my time in the Air Force, I didn't play the violin very

much at all," said Karp. "But the violin has

always been my first love and when I was done I picked it

right back up again." Karp began taking lessons to

shake off some of the rust that accumulated and his

teacher referred him to the group that she played with to

serve as her replacement for a show she could not make.

From there,

word of mouth and networking played a major role in

landing Karp work with some local and regional

orchestras.

Presently,

Karp plays with the Gainesville and Rome symphony

orchestras, but since 1992 he has played with many

others, including the Augusta Opera Company, the Valdosta

Symphony Orchestra, as well as the symphony orchestras in

LaGrange and Albany. He is the principal second violinist

for the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra and he loves the

challenges that role brings. "I enjoy leading the

section and having others look to me for leadership in

that role. I must be able to play that part better than

anyone else."

For his

performance Friday night, Karp will play two sets. From

8-9 p.m., he will play selections from the Baroque

period, including works by Bach, Telemann and Corelli.

The second set from 9-10 p.m. will feature selections

from the romantic period, as well as some different

ethnic sounding pieces. "I like to play some Irish

jigs and waltzes, as well as some bluegrass and

Ragtime," said Karp.

He also

will play what he considers one of his favorite pieces,

"Ashokan's Farewell" by Jay Unger. The piece

was the theme from Ken Burn's special "The Civil

War" and has been mistaken as a piece from that

period. It actually was written before the special was

even created in the 1980s.

"I

consider what I do to be pretty important," Karp

said. "I like to expose people to classical music,

share my love of it and make them understand." He,

like his parents, has passed on his love of classical

music to his three daughters, Sarah, Mary and Kathryn.

All three girls have taken piano lessons and have

developed a good ear. "They tell me when something

sounds good, but also when I need to work on a piece a

little bit more."

Starbucks

is near Tanner's and Publix in the Fayetteville Pavilion.

The performance begins at 8 p.m., and refreshments will

be avavilable.

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