By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Weekend Editor

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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