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2004-2005 Season Schedule

All events are in Coolidge Auditorium and start at 8:00 pm unless otherwise noted.

Date Artist / Event Description / Program
September 28, 2004 at noon ANJANI AMBEGAOKAR -- North Indian Kathak Dance

Anjani Ambegaokar -- 2004 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship awardee -- will perform North Indian Kathak dance. Ambegaokar came to the United States in 1967 from her native India and has since become the most well known dancer, choreographer, and educator of Kathak in the nation. Kathak, a popular but very complex form of North Indian dance with a 4,000-year history, tells stories of ancient mythology incorporating fast tempo barefoot rhythms with ankle bells and distinctive, graceful hand gestures and facial expressions.

This performance is sponsored by the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

October 5, 2004

I MUSICI DE MONTRÉAL
Yuli Turovsky, Artistic Director

"a total experience, whose arch and sincere emotions left an ineradicable impression”

Canada’s internationally renowned chamber orchestra gives a fresh reading of Tchaikovsky’s popular Serenade for Strings, op. 48, and performances of Britten’s Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge and three Jewish pieces by Bloch with maestro Turovsky as cello soloist, plus the Washington premiere of Coup d’Archet by Canadian composer Denis Gougeon.

 

October 18, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Pickford Theater

Jazz & Soul Film Series

REMEMBERING ELVIN JONES AND STEVE LACY
Elvin Jones Jazz Machine, John Coltrane, and Steve Lacy

October 20, 2004 at noon

NADEEM DLAIKAN -- Arabic Music

Nadim Dlaikan, maker and virtuoso player of the nay, a single-reed wind instrument, is a highly respected member of the dynamic music community of Arab Detroit, the largest Arab American community in the United States. Nadim was born in the village of Alai in Lebanon and began to play the nay at an early age. He went on to study under master musicians at the Lebanese Conservatory and moved to Beirut, where he became a member of Lebanon’s best-known folk troupe, traveling throughout the Middle East. He moved to the Detroit area in 1970 and became a leader in the Arabic musical community, playing with musicians from throughout the Middle East. His four-piece ensemble will be playing with him in Washington. In 2002 Nadim Dlaikan received a National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

A Homegrown 2004 concert from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

October 20, 2004

PANOCHA QUARTET

“ a reading of supple phrasing and the most complex, delicate half-shades”

Acclaimed interpreters of the Bohemian masters in the Czech string quartet tradition perform music whose spirit is in their bloodstream and which is imbued with an idiomatic sense of joy and fantasy.

Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, op. 33, no. 6
Smetana: String Quartet no. 2 in D Minor
Dvorák: String Quartet in E-flat Major, op. 51 (“Slavonic”)

October 22, 2004 JACKY TERRASSON TRIO

“A truly masterful jazz pianist. . .creating a beautiful blend of melody and spontaneity.”

A winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, the Paris-based French-American pianist leads his trio, praised for its “rhythmic elasticity, harmonic richness, and melodic elan,” in unexpected and fresh interpretations of standards and original works that bear the influence of Miles Davis, Ahmad Jamal, Jacques Brel, and Edith Piaf.

Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of France.

October 25, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Pickford Theater

Jazz & Soul Film Series

THE SUBJECT IS JAZZ (1958)
Billy Taylor, Langston Hughes, Jimmy Cleveland, Doc Severinsen, Jimmy Rushing, Tony Scott, & others
“ SOUL” (1967-1973)
National Educational Television Center Series

October 26, 2004 “MR. PRESIDENT”
Election Singers
Judith Clurman, Conductor

“Once ev’ry four years...when election appears...we go down to the polls...”
—from Mr. President, a musical by Irving Berlin


A delightful evening of works from the Library’s collections of Berlin, Gershwin, and campaign songs, and the premiere of a new choral cycle based on Presidential speeches, Mr. President, written for this concert by prominent American composers—Adler, Babbitt, Brown, Cabaniss, Hagen, Heggie, Moravec, Schwartz, Shatin, and others.

October 29, 2004
Founder’s Day Concert

GEORGE CRUMB ENSEMBLE
75th Birthday Tour

A retrospective concert of works by Musical America’s “2004 Composer of the Year” spanning 55 years of his creative output, including Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik on Theolonius Monk’s ‘Round Midnight. The composer himself is the percussionist, joined by soprano Tony Arnold, pianist Robert Shannon, and guitarist David Starobin.

George Crumb “invites listeners . . . to enter a private world of marvels.”

November 1, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Pickford Theater

Jazz & Soul Film Series

THOSE FREE KINGS!
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Horace Silver, and Lee Morgan

November 3, 2004

KOPELMAN QUARTET

“ . . .lustrous sound . . .swooping from tender lyricism to bursts of fiery passion.”

Formed in 2002 by four distinguished musicians whose background, style, and musical outlook follow the classic Russian tradition of the Moscow Conservatory, led by the former primarius of the acclaimed Borodin Quartet.

Prokofiev: String Quartet no. 2 (on Kabardinian themes) in F Major, op. 92
Miaskovsky: String Quartet no.13 in A Minor, op. 86
Tchaikovsky: String Quartet no. 3 in E-flat Minor, op. 33

 

November 8, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Pickford Theater

Jazz & Soul Film Series

BEYOND RHYTHM
Carmen McRae, M’Boom, Bobby Hebb, and the Persuasions

November 9, 2004

LE CONCERT SPIRITUEL
Hervé Niquet, Director

“ . . .absolutely awe-inspiring . ..”

Unparalleled interpreters of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French Grand Motet, the sixteen singers and instrumentalists of the group under its founding director commemorate the 300th death anniversary of Marc-Antoine Charpentier with a performance of his Te Deum and Messe de Monsieur de Mauroy—two crowning achievements of French Baroque music.

Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of France.

November 15, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Pickford Theater

Jazz & Soul Film Series

GUERREROS MUSICALES!
Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, and Willie Colón

November 17, 2004 at noon

AMERICAN INDIAN MUSIC and DANCE TROUPE

The American Indian Music and Dance Troupe is directed by Tom Mauchahty - Ware, a Kiowa whose family has presented the traditions of the Plains peoples since the 1930s. Tom’s great uncle, noted artist Stephen Mopope, appeared at the Second National Folk Festival in 1935, his father performed at festivals during the 1940s, and Tom began performing at National Festivals in the 1960s. Tom Ware, a noted flute player, brings a troupe from the Kiowa and Comanche nations, who will be performing the Eagle, Hoop, Fancy, and Grass dances, among others.

A Homegrown 2004 program cosponsored by the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution.

November 22, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Pickford Theater

Jazz & Soul Film Series

THE DEPTHS OF SOUL
Cissy Houston, Ronnie Dyson, Al Green, and the Isaac Douglas Singers

November 29, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Pickford Theater

Jazz & Soul Film Series

FUNK AND FUQUA!
Mandrill, Labelle, Georgia Jackson, Harvey Fuqua, New Birth, the Nitelighters, and the Moonglows

December 6, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Pickford Theater

Jazz & Soul Film Series

PHILADELPHIA MEETS JOHANNESBURG
Queen Esther Marrow, Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes, Miriam Makeba, the Delphonics, and Muhammed Ali

December 7, 2004

THOMAS HAMPSON
with Craig Rutenberg, Piano

"One of today’s most beautiful voices.”

The first in a series of collaborative educational programs between the Library of Congress and the Hampsong Foundation (www.hampsong.com) established by the internationally acclaimed American baritone for the promotion of the art song in America.

Presented in cooperation with the Vocal Arts Society.

December 8, 2004 at noon

JERRY GRCEVICH TAMBURITZA ORCHESTRA

Jerry Grcevich is a master player, composer, and arranger of tambura music, the intricate and virtuosic string-ensemble music of Eastern Europe, notably Croatia and Serbia. For over thirty years he has been a mainstay of tamburitza music in the United States, mastering all of the string instruments, and recording over twenty records, tapes, and CDs. He frequently travels to Croatia to play and gather new material. Grcevich, like his father, from whom he learned, has been elected to the Tamburitza Hall of Fame.

A Homegrown 2004 concert from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

December 10, 2004

 

 

IN SWEET JOY
Fanfare Consort
Thom Freas, Founder and Artistic Director

“ Sparkles with originality. . . great panache and vitality.”

A musical celebration of the winter season from the Christian and Jewish traditions, highlighted by the Vivaldi Gloria in D Major and settings of the Christmas chorale In dulci jubilo, as well as secular literature—in historically informed performances by a vocal quartet and an ensemble of Baroque strings, winds, trumpet, and basso continuo.

December 13, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Pickford Theater

Jazz & Soul Film Series

NICK, NINA, & VAL
Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson, and Nina Simone

December 14, 2004

 

 

BEAUX ARTS TRIO
50th Anniversary Season

“ . . . throughout, the sense of discovery was palpable.”

In its current incarnation—pianist Menahem Pressler, the remaining founding member; violinist Daniel Hope; and cellist Antonio Meneses—the chamber music legend continues the tradition of eminent artistry, profound musicianship, comprehensive repertoire, and extensive discography. The program will include a piece commissioned by the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress.

 

December 17, 2004

JUILLIARD STRING QUARTET with CHRISTOPHER OLDFATHER, Piano

“ An international presence. . .an American institution.”

Stephen Hartke’s Diferencias for violin and piano, a new commission by the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress, receives its world premiere.

Hartke’s writing is “highly expressive. . .with a sense of austerity and restraint that gives his music a remarkably balanced sound.”

 

December 20, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Pickford Theater

Jazz & Soul Film Series

MOTOWN NIGHT
Gladys Knight & the Pips and Stevie Wonder & Wonderlove.

February 4, 2005

DANILO PÉREZ TRIO

“. . .Fresh and inventive version of Latin jazz. . . exciting, soothing, and engrossing.”

The young Panamanian pianist-composer and innovative exponent of Pan-American jazz leads drummer Adam Cruz and bassist Ben Street in an insightful and distinctive blend of standard jazz, Latin-Afro-Cuban rhythms, and folk and world music.

 

February 10, 2005

AVIV STRING QUARTET

“ . . .real freshness of expression, energy, and drive. . .”

Mentored by Isaac Stern, the Aviv has emerged as one of the most exciting ensembles of the younger generation whose performance this past winter at London’s Wigmore Hall was described as “an impressive evening that marked the Aviv Quartet out as a force to be reckoned with.”

McMillan: Sketches (Washington premiere)
Shostakovich: String Quartet no. 4
Brahms: String Quartet in B-flat Major, op. 67

Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of Israel.

February 11, 2005

BILL FRISELL, Guitar
with Jenny Sheiman and Eyvind Kang, violins; Ava King, viola; Hank Roberts, cello

“ Innovative, adventurous music that stretches the boundaries of jazz”

“A country lament that ends up as a tango” is not surprising from the Baltimore-born guitarist and two-time DownBeat Guitarist of the Year, whose eclectic style has been called “Americana,” melding jazz, country, folk, blues, rock, world, and classical music.

 

February 23, 2005

SABINE MEYER: TRIO DI CLARONE
with Kalle Randalu, Piano

“a seamless precision and an alluring dynamic flexibility”

A family trio formed by the “primadonna assoluta of the clarinet” with her brother Wolfgang and her husband Reiner Wehle offers a rare hearing of the sensuously dark-toned basset horn (Mozart’s favorite instrument), along with works for the more familiar modern clarinet.

Mozart (arr. Schottstädt): Divertimento F Major on Four Arias from
Così fan tutte for 3 Basset Horns
Poulenc: Sonata for Clarinet (1918)
Milhaud: Scaramouche for Clarinet and Piano
Mozart: Trio in E-flat Major, K. 498 (“Kegelstatt”) for Clarinet, Basset Horn, and Piano
Françaix: Quartet for Clarinet, Basset Horn, Bass Clarinet, and Piano (1994)

 

February 25, 2005

REBEL Ensemble for Baroque Music
Jörg-Michael Schwarz & Karen Marie Marmer, Directors

“Their performance...ignited the music with blazing vitality.”

A program of Vivaldi concertos and sonatas including the popular La Follia, an early edition of which is in the Library’s special collections--performed on period instruments by flute/recorder player Matthias Maute, violinists Schwarz and Marmer, violist Risa Browder, cellist John Moran, bassist Anne Trout, and theorbo/lute/guitar player Daniel Swenberg.

 

March 8, 2005

KELLER QUARTET

“ An experience to remember with awe and gratitude.”

The Budapest-based string quartet formed by students of the Franz Liszt Academy has gained international recognition for a broad range of repertoire extending from Haydn to Kurtág, who has written numerous works for the group.

Schubert: String Quartet in E-Flat Major, D. 87
Ligeti: String Quartet no. 1 (“Métamorphoses nocturnes”)
Debussy: String Quartet in G Minor, op. 10

March 16, 2005

AGUAVÁ NEW MUSIC STUDIO -- Alain Barker, Cary Boyce, and Carmen Helena Téllez, Artistic Directors

Pre-concert Presentation -- 6:00pm in the Whittall Pavilion
Panel discussion on the evolution of Latin American Classical Music moderated by composer Aurelio de la Vega.

 

“The spirit of our times, expressed to perfection by real virtuosi.”

Considered one of today’s most impressive new music ensembles in America, Aguavá New Music Studio, conducted by Carmen Helena Téllez, is a network of classically trained composers and performers which presents masterworks of the late twentieth century and recently composed works of the twenty-first in a variety of contexts for listeners and organizations worldwide.

 

March 23, 2005 at noon
Pickford Theater

RAMÓN TASAT, Tenor & Guitar with STEVE BLOOM, Percussion, EUGENIA SHIUK, Flute
Hebrew and Ladino Music from the Balkans and North Africa

Ladino is the language of the Sephardic people. A blend of Judeo-Spanish traditions, Ladino music has been part of the cultural life of many Sephardic Jews ever since they were exiled from Spain in 1492. The performance will include Ladino Purim songs. Celebrated in March, Purim is a joyous holiday, commemorating a time when Jews living in Persia were saved from extermination. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tasat learned Ladino, the language of the Sephardic people, at his grandmother's knee. Trained in five different countries, Ramón has studied at the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary, the Manuel de Falla Conservatory of Music and the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a doctorate degree in voice performance.

The event is sponsored jointly by the Library's Hispanic Division, American Folklife Center and the Hebrew Language Table.

March 30, 2005

MUSICIANS FROM RAVINIA'S STEANS INSTITUTE

 

Brahms’s late masterwork, String Quintet in G Major, op. 111, and Dvorák’s charming and unusual Terzetto, op. 74, highlight an evening with eminent violinist Miriam Fried, violinist/violist Paul Biss, and an international quintet from Ireland, Holland, France, Israel, and the United States--participants in the Ravinia Festival professional program for young artists.

April 15, 2005

BACH ALIVE IN THE NATION’S LIBRARY
Washington Bach Consort
J. Reilly Lewis, Founder and Music Director

First in a series of performances exploring connections between the Baroque master, whose autograph scores of Cantatas 9 and 10 reside in the Library, and other genres of choral music found in the Library’s vast archives. Choir and period instruments perform Cantata BWV 10, Meine Seel’ erhebt den Herren, along with Barber’s Agnus Dei, works by Amy Beach, and Eleanor Remick Warren’s arrangement of Bist du bei mir. This series and past performances of the Consort will be made available online at www.loc.gov/ihas.

A special collaborative project sponsored by the Washington Bach Consort, the Eleanor Remick Warren Society, and the Library of Congress.

April 21, 2005 at noon

LIZ CARROLL with JOHN DOYLE
Irish American fiddling from Illinois

Liz Carroll is universally recognized as one of the greatest Irish fiddlers playing today. Born in Chicago of Irish immigrant parents, Liz astounded the Irish music world in 1975 when she won the senior All-Ireland fiddling championship at the age of eighteen. In a genre noted for its virtuosic musicians, she is widely admired for her diverse repertoire, her dazzling original compositions and her unique and carefully crafted playing style. Liz has recorded numerous albums and performed all over the United States and Europe. In 1994 she was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts for her contributions to traditional Irish music in America. John Doyle, originally from Dublin, spent several years with the group Solas, and is now one of the most sought-after accompanists in Irish music. Also an accomplished singer, Doyle currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

A Homegrown 2005 program from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

April 22, 2005

DAVID CATES, Harpsichord

 

“performances . . . of exceptional beauty, elegance, and understated virtuosity”

Praised for the “variety of playing style and interpretive surprise” in his performances of Johann Sebastian Bach, an outstanding talent among the new generation of American harpsichordists offers an evening of masterworks by the great composer including the Partita in D Major, BWV 828 and the English Suite in G Minor, BWV 808.

April 29, 2005

DAVID FINCKEL, cello
WU HAN, piano

“...every phrase charged with the energy of communication between intimate partners.”

Recently-named artistic directors of the New York Chamber Music Society, the brilliant husband and wife duo presents an evening of Russian classics and the Washington premiere of a sonata by poet-pianist-composer Lera Auerbach dedicated to them.

Prokofiev: Sonata in C Major, op. 119
Auerbach: Sonata no. 1 (2003)
Rachmaninov: Sonata in G Minor, op. 19

May 12, 2005

AKADEMIE FÜR ALTE MUSIK BERLIN

“a vibrantly physical response to the music . . .communicates itself to the audience instantly.”

The famed group of musicians from the former East Berlin makes its first tour of the United States with performances with meticulous interpretations of Baroque music played on period instruments.

Veracini: Overture no. 6
Vivaldi: Concerto for Strings, RV 156
Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Violins, RV 533
Geminiani: Concerto Grosso no. 12 in D Minor
Bach: Orchestral Suite no. 1, BWV 1066
Bach: Concerto for Two Violins, BWV 1043

May 17, 2005

LOST TRIBES OF VAUDEVILLE
New York Festival of Song
Michael Barrett and Steven Blier, Artistic Directors

“A most felicitous blend of entertainment and enlightenment .”

Pianist-arranger Steven Blier leads vocalists and instrumentalists in “a light-hearted salute” to Black and Jewish vaudeville performers--legends Bert Williams, George Walker, Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, and Molly Picon.

May 18, 2005 at noon
Coolidge Auditorium

CHU SHAN CHINESE OPERA INSTITUTE FROM MARYLAND

 

The Chu Shan Chinese Opera Institute was founded in 1991 by Zhu Chu Shan, a Chinese opera director, and Judy Huang, an actress, to provide skilled leadership in directing, acting, teaching, and presenting Chinese opera in the Baltimore-Washington area. They have staged performances of all sizes, and have trained students of all ages, in both large and small groups, in the arts of Chinese opera. More than just a musical style, Chinese Opera is a performance system whose ancient origins have been tempered by five thousand years of development. The discipline demands several skills from performers. The basic elements are summed up by the phrase chang, zuo, nian, da --- singing, acting, reciting, and martial arts fighting. Actors' movements are guided by the predominant aesthetic principle of xieyi, or, literally, "freehand brushstroke," a metaphor borrowed from traditional Chinese painting that refers to the highly stylized, symbolic representation of action on the operatic stage.

A Homegrown 2005 program from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

May 20, 2005

ROLF SCHULTE, Violin, JAMES WINN, Piano and JERRY GROSSMAN, Cello

 

Three outstanding soloists come together to play a special evening of music featuring the first performance of a commission by the McKim Fund.

Ravel: Sonate postume
Lerdahl: Duo for Violin and Piano (World Premiere)
Brahms: Scherzo in C Minor, woo2 posth.
Schumann: Piano Trio in D Minor, op. 63.

Lerdahl--“the mind of a Classicist and the heart of a Romantic”

June 21, 2005 at noon

MARGARET MacARTHUR
Ballads and songs from Vermont

Since settling in Vermont in 1948, Margaret MacArthur has traveled through the state and throughout northern New England, recording old songs that have been passed down through generations and giving them new life through her own performances. Margaret is a marvelous singer and a serious scholar and collector of the traditional songs of New England. She has been honored by both the state of Vermont and the New England Council on the Arts for her role in preserving the traditional arts of the region.

Of a previous MacArthur appearance, Mike Joyce of the Washington Post said: "She's a champion of simpler times and rural places as well as a collector of heartfelt poems and curious tales...but whatever their source or subject matter, MacArthur imbued them with warmth and tunefulness."

A Homegrown 2005 program from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

July 20, 2005 at noon

D.W. GROETHE
Cowboy songs and poetry from Montana

 

 

D.W. Groethe is the genuine article, a working cowboy who writes and sings about the everyday life of a rancher on the northern Great Plains. The descendent of Norwegian immigrants who homesteaded in Williams County, North Dakota, Groethe has a deep respect for and knowledge of those who came before him, Native and immigrant alike. He draws on the long-standing and vigorous traditions of cowboy songs and poetry, which continue to thrive in the American west.

Chris Billings, writing in the Billings Gazette, summed up Groethe's art succinctly: "When he sings, you hear bawling calves, smell the fire at branding time and shiver at the chill of a skin-stripping prairie wind. You ache at the contradiction of ranch life, starving to death to do the thing you love."

A Homegrown 2005 program from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

August 17, 2005 at noon
Madison Hall

BENTON FLIPPEN and the SMOKEY VALLEY BOYS
Old Time music from North Carolina

Benton Flippen, one of the icons of old-time fiddling in America, was born and raised in a musical family in Surry County, North Carolina. Born in 1920, Flippen comes from a generation of great players at the epicenter of Southern mountain music. Among his contemporaries were Tommy Jarrell, Fred Cockerham, Kyle Creed and Earnest East, musicians who have influenced countless students of Old Time music. Flippen has been similarly influential, and he received the 1990 North Carolina Folk Heritage Award for being the innovator of a distinctive style of old-time string music. He has served as a mentor for several wonderful musicians, notably NPR newscaster, music producer, and banjo player Paul Brown, who will be playing with Flippen at this concert. Benton Flippen is still an active musician, playing at fiddle contests and square dances throughout his home region. The Smokey Valley Boys consist of Paul Brown on banjo, Verlen Clifton on mandolin, and Frank Bodie on guitar.

A Homegrown 2005 program from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

September 20, 2005 at noon

CARTER FAMILY TRIBUTE
Old Time Music from Virginia
NEA National Heritage Fellow Concert

The Original Carter Family was the most influential group in early country music, recording dozens of hit songs between 1927 and 1941. Made up of A.P. Carter, his wife Sara Carter, and her cousin Maybelle Carter (who got the Carter surname by marrying A.P.’s brother Ezra), the group established many of the conventions of the genre, including styles of guitar playing and vocal harmony that remained standard for years. The Carters also collected and arranged many folk songs from both white and black traditions, bringing folk ballads, lyric songs and blues firmly into popular Country music.

This year, one of the recipients of the National Heritage Fellowship Award is country singer and autoharp player Janette Carter, one of A.P. and Sara’s daughters. Janette has labored for years to preserve the legacy of the Carter Family, and in 1979 founded the Hiltons, Virginia, music venue The Carter Family Fold. In honor of Janette’s achievement as a performer and an organizer, the American Folklife Center will present a Carter Family Tribute Concert, featuring prominent country and old-time musicians, hosted by Joe Wilson, former director of the National Council for Traditional Arts.

A Homegrown 2005 program from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

 

October 12, 2005 at noon

NEGURA PERUANA
Afro Peruvian music and dance from Connecticut

Negrura Peruana performs the music and dance of Peru's African and criollo population from the coastal region just to the south of Lima, the nation's capital. Group members emigrated from Lima to the Hartford area of Connecticut about ten years ago and formed Negrura Peruana in 2002. Group members learned their music, dances and songs in their neighborhoods in Peru, where music was an important part of celebrations, gatherings, and informal competitions. Since its founding Negrura Peruana has become a popular attraction at events held by the growing Peruvian community in Connecticut.

A Homegrown 2005 program from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

November 16, 2005

DINEH TAH NAVAJO DANCERS

Founded in 1993, the Dineh Tah Navajo Dancers promote the understanding of the rich cultural traditions of the Navajo "Dineh" people. Their performances include dances and songs such as the Corn Grinding Act, the Basket Dance, the Bow and Arrow Dance and the Social Song and Dance. The group is made up of young dancers from throughout the Four Corners region of the Southwest that comprises the Navajo nation.

A Homegrown 2005 cosponsored with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.

December 7, 2005

BIRMINGHAM SUNLIGHTS
African American gospel quartet from Alabama

The dynamic Birmingham Sunlights are dedicated to carrying on the art of unaccompanied gospel harmony singing that has an especially brilliant heritage in their home place Jefferson County, Alabama. Formed in 1979 by music director James Alex Taylor, the quartet originally included James' brothers Steve and Barry, and Ricky Speights and Wayne Williams; Williams has since been replaced by Bill Graves.

Upon becoming aware of the rich Jefferson County gospel quartet tradition they sought training from a senior quartet, the Sterling Jubilees, to learn songs traditional to the area. For over twenty years since then, the Sunlights have carried their joyful message all over the United States and the world. They have appeared at numerous festivals across the nation, performed in France as ambassadors of Alabama traditional culture, toured five countries in Africa and performed extensively in the Caribbean and Australia under the auspices of the United States Department of Information and the United States State Department.

A Homegrown 2005 program from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

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August 19, 2006

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