Two performances have been scheduled at the Mount Gretna Playhouse, 200 Pennsylvania Ave., Mount Gretna. More information and tickets are available by calling 717-361-1508 or visiting http://www.gretnamusic.org.

Gretna Music and Central PA Friends of Jazz will present jazz trumpeter Etienne Charles and his sextet in concert on Friday, July 7, at 7:30 p.m. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

Trinidad-born Charles is a performer, composer and storyteller who is continuously searching for untold stories and sounds with which to tell them. He aims to use his unique sound to engage, enlighten, educate and enrich audiences with energized performances. He is a believer in music and performance as a tool for provoking thought and dialogue.

The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus will perform on Saturday, July 8, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Mount Gretna Playhouse. Founded in 1995, Bindlestiff blends vaudeville, circus, and sideshow spectacle, harkening back to the golden age of the traveling American circus with a contemporary artistic twist. The six-member troupe presents juggling, acrobatics, hula hooping, contortionism, Cyr wheeling and magic.

Through the support of the Mim Enck Charitable Foundation, the ticket prices have been reduced for this event; no additional special pricing will be offered. Part of the ticket revenue for this event will be donated to the Mt. Gretna Fire Department, which is raising funds for a new fire truck.

Gretna Music has also planned two First Listen performances, both at 6:45 p.m. The First Listen program features local youths in free mini concerts before the mainstage concerts.

Prior to Charles' performance on July 7, the Luca Savarino Quartet will perform. The ensemble consists of Luca Savarino, a senior at Harrisburg Academy, on the saxophone; Sam Hale, senior at Capital Area High School, piano; Joseph LaMarca, senior at Messiah University, bass; and Justin Bowden, freshman at Temple University, drums.

Based in central Pennsylvania, the jazz band has played with big bands and professional musicians in the area and has connections with the Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz (CPFJ). Players in the quartet have also performed in the CPFJ All-Star High School Big Band, the annual Jazz Walk in Harrisburg, jam sessions in York, and the Summer Jazz Camp at Messiah University.

On Sunday, July 9, the First Listen series will feature violinist Daniel Huang prior to Russian-American piano virtuoso Natasha Paremski at 7:30 p.m. Daniel is a junior at Veritas Academy and a student of Simon Maurer. He is also studying piano with Xun Pan. He has won awards in the Women's Symphony Association's concerto competition, most recently taking second place on violin. He has been the concertmaster of the Allegretto youth orchestra and also plays in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra. Daniel's First Listen program will include excerpts from Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 and Bach's Violin Partita No. 2.