When vibraphone virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Kuba Kawnik and Broadway musical vocalist Rebecca Lowe met, a personal and professional partnership was born.
The married couple, now known as Kubecca, will perform “The Ultimate Musical Odyssey” Jan. 13 at Munster High School Auditorium in a show presented by Lakeshore Community Concerts (formerly Northwest Indiana Concert Association) and Live On Stage Inc.
“It happened that we were on the same cruise ship working as entertainers,” said Kawnik, via phone from his home in Nashville, Tenn., about the couple meeting in 2003.
“First of all, we got together as a couple. Right after that, we realized that actually we can connect our talents and perform together even if we are coming from totally different genres and different types of music.”
“The Ultimate Musical Odyssey,” which includes jazz and show tunes, features songs such as “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” “I Dreamed a Dream,” “Flight of the Bumblebee,” “Memory,” “Make You Feel My Love” and “Only You.”
“My wife is a musical theater singer and she sings some country. She is from Texas. I’m from Poland. I play not only classical music, but popular music. It’s a variety show. We play a lot of different genres in that show,” he said.
“We can tease each other on the stage as a married couple and the audience finds it really entertaining. We just like this connection.”
One advantage to making music for a living is the opportunity to travel, which the couple, who were married in 2009, do with their daughter, Rozalia Kawnik, 6.
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“She loves traveling with us. She has the chance to explore the country and meet a lot of friends on tour,” Kawnik said..
Kubecca (www.kubecca.com) have performed across the United States and internationally.
“Since I’m here in the United States for 10 years already, I find it very interesting what people would like to hear and what really works for certain audiences. I love exploring this,” he said.
He started playing music on a wooden recorder at age 4 and began studying violin at age 7, eventually becoming known for his skill on vibraphone.
“I like to play percussion instruments and, on top of that, the vibraphone was giving me the most on the percussion instruments because you play melody on vibraphone,” said Kawnik. “I love improvising. I love playing melodies and composition and vibraphone gives me all of that. It’s a wonderful instrument.”
“The Ultimate Musical Odyssey” also features marimba, kalimba, flute and theremin.
“It’s a very fun show to watch,” Kawnik said. “I feel that the audience senses that we enjoy it, so that’s why they enjoy it as well.”
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune
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‘The Ultimate Musical Odyssey’
When: 7 p.m. Jan. 13
Where: Munster High School Auditorium, 8808 Columbia Ave., Munster
Tickets: $30 adult; $10 family add-on for all children
Information: 219-923-7879 (Christine Small) or www.lakeshoreconcerts.org
