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Published: April 24, 2009
Pete Seeger's 90th at Labor Hall
BARRE – You don't have to go to New York City on Sunday, May 3, to celebrate the 90th birthday of American folk music icon Pete Seeger. While Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, and a plethora of nationally-known musicians pay tribute at Madison Square Garden, a host of their central Vermont counterparts will do the same at the historic Old Labor Hall at 7 p.m. The Vermont musicians will include Jon Gailmor, Ben Koenig, Tom Azarian, Carol Hausner, Jeremy Seeger, Andy Pitt, Donny Osman, Jairo Segueira, Charlie Barasch and Mark Greenberg. The celebration will also feature a giant birthday card created by Montpelier artist Ed Epstein for everyone in attendance to sign. "Pete is a national treasure," says concert organizer Greenberg, who has written extensively about Seeger and produced two-CD compilations of the folk music legend's music for Smithsonian Folkways Records. "He not only has helped to preserve and spread our musical heritage, but he has helped to inspire many people to work towards achieving a better world for everyone." The concert will feature songs written by Seeger, such as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "If I Had a Hammer," along with traditional songs that Seeger has helped to spread both on his own and, in the 1950s, with The Weavers. In keeping with Seeger's commitment to singing as a communal activity, the audience will be encouraged to sing along. The concert will benefit the Labor Hall's restoration. Seeger has supported the Labor Hall and says that he hopes to sing there in the next couple years.
Tickets are $12, $10 for students and seniors. Anyone wearing red socks, a Seeger trademark for many years, will receive a $1 discount. For more information call (802) 476-8777, or e-mail: briggslane@charter.net.
VYO 'Choral Fireworks'
JOHNSON – The Vermont Youth Orchestra presents its spring concert, "Choral Fireworks," on Friday, May 1, at 8 p.m., at the Dibden Center for the Arts at Johnson State College, and on Sunday, May 3, at 3 p.m., at the Flynn Center in Burlington. In this first collaboration between the VYO and the Chorus, audiences will be treated to the sound of 150 of Vermont's finest, young instrumentalists and singers performing together on the Flynn MainStage, led alternately by VYO conductor Troy Peters and VYO choral conductor Jeffrey Buettner.
For information, call (802) 655-5030, or go online to www.vyo.org.
African traditional music
HANOVER, N.H. – Malian master musician Toumani Diabaté and his 11-piece Symmetric Orchestra infuse topnotch African traditional musicianship with riveting, high-energy Afropop when they play Hopkins Center's Spaulding Auditorium on Tuesday, April 28, at 7 p.m. The kora is one of the world's great instruments, its hollow-calabash body lending a rich, round resonance to the harmonically, melodically and rhythmically versatile 21 strings. Diabaté is one of its foremost living players, known internationally for decades as a player of exceptional virtuosity and creativity. From a 71-generation line of kora-playing griots — West African poet/musician/storytellers — he draws deeply on the music's tradition while updating it for the current day. His soulful and virtuosic playing can be heard on pristine and meditative solo albums and in collaborations with Taj Mahal, Peter Gabriel, Björk, the late Guinean master guitarist Ali Farka Touré, and numerous jazz artists. Diabaté will also take part in a program to discuss Malian culture and demonstrate his instrument, the kora, a 21-string African lute, on Monday, at 5:30 p.m. in Dartmouth's Brace Commons, across East Wheelock Street from Alumni Gym. (Admission is free; no pre-registration is required.)
Tickets are $26, $14 for 18 and younger; call (603) 646.2422, or go online to http://hop.dartmouth.edu/2008-0-9/090428-toumani.html.
VYO Hermance Prize
COLCHESTER – The Vermont Youth Orchestra Association presents the Hermance Prize Recital on Sunday, April 26, at 7 p.m., in the Elley-Long Music Center at Saint Michael's College. The Hermance Prize was established in 1990 by the parents and grandfather of local pianist Harry Hermance. It is presented annually to a VYO soloist who has demonstrated a commitment to musical excellence. VYO seniors who have performed as soloists during the 2008-09 concert season are eligible to participate in this recital competition: Samantha Angstman, piano, Williston; Suzanne Calhoun, horn, Jericho; Kelly Herrmann, flute, South Burlington; and Duncan Yandell, fiddle, Williston. Each student performs before an audience that includes a panel of anonymous judges. Music Director Troy Peters will announce the Hermance Prize winner during the VYO Spring Concert on Sunday, May 3. At that time, the student will be presented with a $1,000 award, intended for use towards further study in music.
Tickets are $5, $2 for students, and available only at the door. For more information, call (802) 655-5030, or go online to www.vyo.org.
Womensing
MIDDLEBURY – Town Hall Theater will be filled with women in song on Friday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m., when local a cappella ensemble Womensing and special guests, Libana, offer some of the most beautiful and hopeful music from around the world. Womensing's unusual repertoire includes Balkan, Arabic and Chinese folk songs, French-Canadian call-and-response tunes, and South African freedom chants, as well as African American spirituals and other music indigenous to the Americas. Joining Womensing is the Boston-based women's world music and dance ensemble, Libana. Founded in 1979, and lauded for their "haunting vocal harmonies" and musical proficiency by the Washington Post and the Boston Globe, Libana has for 30 years taken audiences throughout North America and Europe on inspiring and celebratory musical journeys. Their repertoire of ancient melodies and contemporary tunes is performed a cappella and with a vast array of instruments.
Tickets are $16; call (802) 382-9222, or go online to www.townhalltheater.org.
Windham Orchestra
BRATTLEBORO – On Friday, May 1, in Saxtons River, and Saturday, May 2, in Putney, the Windham Orchestra, under the direction of David Runnion, will present "Munich!" featuring an all-German program. "From Moscow to Madrid" to Brattleboro's "Listen Local" concert, the Windham Orchestra concludes its 2008-2009 concert season world-tour with Munich, featuring works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Richard Wagner and Robert Schumann. "We close our season with a classic symphonic program of timeless music from Germany," Runion said. "I love this program. This is what symphonic music is all about; sweeping romantic lines, huge dramatic statements and structures, virtuosity, elegance, a celebration of the supremely beautiful sound of the symphony orchestra." Featured is 15-year-old cellist Rebecca Haynes performing Haydn's Cello Concerto in C Major. In February Haynes won the Orchestra's 2009 Concerto Competition, which is open to young musicians in our region and generously sponsored each year by Brattleboro violinmaker Douglas Cox. Haynes, a sophomore at Hanover High School in New Hampshire, has been studying the cello with Linda Galvan for seven years, chamber music for the past four and is currently the cellist of the Evergreen Trio. "Munich" will also feature Wagner's Prelude to Act 1 of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nürnberg)" and Schumann's Symphony No. 4. Performances are Friday, May 1, 8 p.m., at Vermont Academy's Horowitz Performing Arts Hall in Saxtons River; and Saturday, May 2, 8 p.m., at Putney School's Currier Arts Center in Putney.
Tickets, $15, 10 for youth under 22, are available from the Brattleboro Music Center, (802) 257-4523.
North Country Chorus
The annual spring concert series of the North Country Chorus will feature two choral masterworks of the 20th Century. Performances will be held at the United Church of Christ in Bradford, at 7:30 p.m., on Friday, May 1, at the Wells River Congregational Church at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, May 2, and at the Peacham Congregational Church at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 3. Maurice Duruflé composed his Requiem in 1947 and dedicated it to the memory of his father. While most of its thematic material comes from the Gregorian "Mass for the Dead," it is calmer and more contemplative than most other settings of that text. Igor Stravinsky was commissioned to write "Symphony of Psalms" in 1930 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He chose verses from Psalms 39, 40 and 150 as the text for the piece's three movements. Pianist Jean Anderson of Peacham and organist Karen Miller of East Hardwick will accompany the singers. The entire ensemble will perform under the leadership of Musical Director Alan Rowe.
Tickets will be available at the door for $10 ($5 for students). Visit www.northcountrychorus.org for more information about the chorus.
Indie Film Festival
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – The White River Indie Film Festival, at the Hotel Coolidge, will present one great weekend of politically charged documentaries, locally made cinema, and under-the-radar features.
Tonight:
4 p.m.: Emerging Filmmakers Panel – five emerging filmmakers present their work, free.
6 p.m.: Annual Gala Party and Opening Film — "Taking Root" is film about Kenya from local filmmakers Alan Dater and Lisa Merton, who will be present. Preceded by a live comic interlude from David Lasagna (who is also featured in a film that screens Saturday). Tickets are $35; reserve tickets online as the gala usually sells out.
Saturday, April 25:
10 a.m.: "Black Wave" – A powerful documentary account of life after the Exxon Valdez spill with the film's marine biologist and filmmaker on hand for discussion.
12:30 p.m.: "Murders, Spies & Voting Lies" and "Layers of Lasagna" — David Lasagna returns to town with his new pet issue, election integrity; David's humor is featured in a portrait-documentary. "Murders, Spies & Voting Lies" recounts the full, terrifying and remarkable tale of a computer programmer who is asked by a prominent legislator to rig electronic voting machines.
3 p.m.: "Flow" – A case against the world's growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply.
5 p.m.: "The Toe Tactic" – A playful ever-inventive animated meditation on love, life, creativity, healing and family.
7:30 p.m.: "Edge of Heaven" – An elegy on death, new beginnings, the mystery of interwoven lives and longing for home, a narrative that won Cannes for its screenplay.
10 p.m.: "Vote & Die: Liszt for President" – Pitch-black satiric mockumentary savages all sides via the 2016 election campaign for nihilist Neil Liszt. Since life sucks, he plans to end the human world.
Sunday, April 26:
10 a.m.: "Who Does She Think She Is?" – The story of five fierce women who refuse to choose between their lives as artists and motherhood.
Noon: "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" – Inquiry into the overlooked victory of the Liberian women's peace movement, up-lifting, inspiring, disheartening & enraging.
2 p.m.: "Jerusalem East Side Story" – Journey to the Middle East to expose Israel's policies regarding Palestinians' homes in East Jerusalem.
3:30 p.m. "Battle of Wills" – A story of obsession and intrigue in the art world over a Shakespeare portrait.
5:30 p.m.: "Cherry Blossoms" – One man's self-discovery, exploring his love for wife and family, death with a vision of Japan from the perspective of Butoh dance.
8 p.m.: "Planet B Boy" — Electrifying treat as we follow the Beat Boy breakdance phenomenon into world competition.
Visit www.wrif.org for more details and to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets will also be available at the door.
Vermont Public Television
Monday: At 7:30 p.m. on "Profile," Fran Stoddard talks with Gretchen Gerzina of Dartmouth College, an acclaimed biographer and syndicated radio host.
Saturday, May 2: St 9:10 p.m., VPT begins another series of vintage "Sherlock Holmes" adventures with "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax." At 11 p.m., Ani Difranco headlines "Austin City Limits."
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