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Our Performers
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Pub Songs, Sea Chanties, Novelties, and more! Bart Bales leads songs of the British and American vocal traditions, plus some new songs, with lots of opportunity to join in on rich choruses. Bart Bales is a long-time member of the Juggler Meadow Morris Men, a singer of a wide variety of traditional songs of Britain and America, as well as writer of new songs. Bart has performed leads in musicals and in Western Massachusetts' version of Revels, Welcome Yule: A Midwinter Celebration since 1987. This year he was the author of their mummers play. He also has a program of children's songs he can present.
Halcyon, a Peterborough-based vocal ensemble, performs unaccompanied partsongs from medieval and renaissance France and Spain and from the Republic of Georgia as well as traditional English and American songs. Halcyon is comprised of Nancy Knowles (director), Kate Dean, Marybeth Hallinan, Monica Lehner, Nancy Salwen, Chris Schaub and Anne Thomas. Halcyon (pronounced hal-see-on) is named after a bird fabled by the ancients for calming the high seas during the winter solstice by nesting on them. Most of its singers have studied with Knowles for many years. For more information visit www.duoliveoak.com
Mary Graham of Wilton teaches and plays music on the Irish harp. Mary has traveled to Ireland to study the music and organized workshops and concerts with harpists such as Grainne Hambley in the Peterborough area. For more information write Mary Graham irishharp@adelphia.net.
Singer, songwriter, poet, guitarist Lester Hirsh performs a variety of musical styles. His music and poetry echoes impressions of the coal towns of Pennsylvania where he spent his formative years, as well as Miami, Florida, and New England. He has performed in a variety of ensembles over the past 20 years including a folk trio, Side Three, originating in Florida, a folk/pop trio Jerusalem in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and mostly solo work in New England since 1985. Since moving to New Hampshire in 1985, Lester has produced 3 full-length cassettes, 'Part & Parcel,' 'Piper's Dream,' and 'Whistle in the Wind.' Two CDs followed: 'Tales of a Troubadour' is a 17-song retrospecitve compilation produced and released in 1994 and features the beautiful hit, 'Piper's Dream' which has received airplay all over the world, due in part to its inclusion on Big Noise's compilation 'Digital Mystery Tour.' In the fall of 1998, the CD 'Sweet Surrender' was released, followed in 2003 by 'Strangers Or Lonesome Friends' and 'Mosaic: Poems of An Ancient Order.' Lester is a Touring Member of the New Hampshire Council On the Arts and the Schuylkill County Council on the Arts in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, a published poet, and editor. For more information visit www.bignoisenow.com/hirsh.html.
The shakuhachi is a Japanese bamboo flute with an unbroken history of meditative music that has been passed on from teacher to student for five hundred years. Originally played by wandering Buddhist monks, the music is unlike that of any other tradition. Its unmistakable sound is both calm and highly energized, and its jagged melodies sound as fresh as the latest free jazz. Relying on techniques that would be considered highly experimental on a Western flute, the shakuhachi is widely considered one of the most difficult instruments to play, and there are only a few Western musicians who have mastered its intricacies. Among these, Phil Nyokai James stands out for his dedication to the ancient tradition as well as his use of the instrument in new settings such as improvised and avant-garde music. Originally trained in music composition, conducting and orchestration in Western classical music, James began studying shakuhachi in 1978 and is now a licensed master in the Ki Sui An shakuhachi dojo. In addition to playing the traditional solo music for the instrument, James has sat in with such unlikely musical colleagues as the Violent Femmes and Laurie Anderson, and he is a frequent guest artist with the afro-nuclear-wave-funk-swing-reggae-tango band BCR. His solo shakuhachi recording First Places was hailed by Jazz Weekly as one of the best CDs of 2002. James is committed to sharing his knowledge of music with children and adults alike. He has taught workshops alone and in collaboration with Simone Forti and Heloise Gold, among others; he has been an Artist in the Schools in Austin, Texas; he has been an Artist in Residence and guest lecturer at various universities; and most recently he was the musical director and adjunct professor for the Stephens College Summer Dance program. For more information on the performer and the shakuhachi, visit www.nyokai.com
With soaring vocals and haunting flute playing, Nancy Knowles sings the incomparable unaccompanied solo repertoire of the three cultures (Moslem, Jewish, and Christian) of medieval Spain. Long an expert in medieval music, Knowles' evocative program harks back to an age when feminine virtues were passionately extolled in song and verse. Knowles sings songs of Holy Mary and Mary Magdalene, of Moorish babies and Sephardic brides, of mourning, and of pilgrimage. For more information visit www.nancyknowles.com. "The eloquence could not have been improved upon...the soprano Nancy Knowles gave a vocal image of the "heavenly queen" in Royne Celestre -sturdy, compassionate, serene." —The New York Times
Karyn Levitt is a singer/actress who sings everything from operatic arias to cabaret, swing, jazz, and rock and roll. Drawing on her rich and studied training in theater and music, Karyn designs unique cabarets. Classical sonnets, contemporary monologues, jazz standards, art songs, and original pieces combine in unexpected ways to give you an experience you won't forget. "Lyrics by Shakespeare" is a remarkable celebration of the Bard's poetry and prose. Some of his greatest speeches are interwoven with his most beautiful sonnets in an unforgettable tapestry of words and music. The sonnets enter the 21st century as contemporary songs: from pop to Broadway, from classical to blues, tango, klezmer, and even country western. The music, composed by Leslie Hitelman (pianist), becomes the vehicle for exploring Shakespeare's meditations on time, immortality, love, and other metaphysical themes. CD's of "Words by Shakespeare" are available from her for $15 plus $3.50 p&H. For more information write camino_real@hotmail.com or visit http://royalroad2000.com.
Odysseylive is a high energy telling of Homer's Odyssey from Calypso's island to the end. Sebastian Lockwood is a master storyteller specialising in making ancient texts contemporary and essential. Performances are suitable for audiences of all ages. Sebastian has taught Storytelling, Poetry, and Arts and Society for the Creative Arts Curriculum for Lesley and Endicott Colleges and has taught Literature and Anthropology at Lesley for eight years. Sebastian also performs Moldy Forehead, a haida cycle; Gilgamesh, an ancient Sumerian epic of a king; Monkey, a classic Chinese tale of adventure and many original tales. For information visit www.odysseylive.org.
Using stretching, balance and movement elements from Kripalu yoga, modern dance and ballet, Nanette's Voiceyoga is a complete process that combines voice, body and motion. This process works for anyone, but is particularly helpful for performers, singers, instrumentalists and teachers. Voiceyoga relaxes and centers your body, energy and voice to get the most out of it! Vocal exercises range from Toning to attune the chakras to singing basic melodies while moving to modern dance inspired choreography. For more information visit www.Nanettevoice.com.
The Peterborough Chamber Choir was organized in January, 1991 by director David Vernier primarily to perform 19th and 20th century works for small ensemble by American and European composers. Its widely varied repertoire now includes renaissance and early-baroque motets, folksong arrangements, English, French, and German partsongs, spirituals, and even a couple of jazz settings. During the past three years the choir has continued its annual "Christmas in story and song" concerts—a seasonal favorite with regional audiences—and has focused its efforts on presenting more frequent performances throughout the area, donating the proceeds from its concerts to benefit local community and charitable organizations. In this case the performances is free to the public, but any donations made to the museum benefit its educational mission to give the community the opportunity to travel the world without a passport. Culture and diversity are celebrated in tours designed especially for school children and community organizations and in sharing our diverse heritage with the community. The music will be presented at the gallery opening from 6-9pm of "Hari Amrit," new works in oil, encaustic, casein, collage and ink by Joan Hanley, a show honoring a late yoga teacher born in Hong Kong. Many works evidence the artists' efforts to learn Garmuki—a combination of Persian, Hindi and Sanskrit; a sacred language. The opening will also celebrate the window gallery exhibit by Simi Berman which includes terra-cotta reliefs which have been painted with vivid gouaches, a technique that is thousands of years old used by folk artists from Ancient Greece to present day Mexico.
Vocalist Laura Pierce is co-director of Jazz Insight. Laura has been singing jazz professionally for over twenty-five years. She earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam in 1980. Laura studied jazz voice with Maggi Scott at the Berklee College of Music. She also studied jazz improvisation with Harvey Diamond, a former student of Lennie Tristano. In Boston, Laura has appeared at many of the top hotels such as the Copley Plaza, Park Plaza and Meridian, and in leading jazz clubs including the Regattabar and Ryles. She has performed with the Dave McKenna All-Stars and the Winiker Swing Orchestra. Laura has appeared on Boston's WGBH radio shows Eric in the Evening with host Eric Jackson and Music America with host Ron Della Chiesa, as well as on NH Public Radio. Laura has taught piano lessons for twenty-five years. For the past ten years, she has taught Kindermusik, the internationally acclaimed music and movement program for young children. Saxophonist Michael Kolodny is co-director of Jazz Insight. Michael has performed in some of the world's leading jazz venues, including the Blue Note and Carnegie Hall in New York City. He has performed with Cecil Brooks III, Joe Hunt, Harvie S (Swartz) and other jazz masters. A New York City native, Michael studied in NY at the Aaron Copland School of Music and with tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh. Michael has taught jazz for over twenty-five years, including private students, middle and high school jazz band, master classes and workshops. He has taught the art of listening through agencies such as the Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association, Mountain Arts Program and Hospital Audiences. Michael appeared on a WMUR TV News Profile in 2001. For more information visit Jazz Insight.
In the mid-nineties, Jo met Duncan Williamson, a Scottish traveller at the Illinois Storytelling Festival where the two of them swapped stories. Jo told Duncan stories that her Scottish-born mother had shared with her about her early years in Scotland, and Duncan told Jo about his life as a traveller collecting the stories that make up his repertoire. He gave Jo permission to tell any of his published stories since she is also of Scottish descent. One of the stories she will tell is "The Lighthouse Keeper," a story told to Duncan by Peter MacKinnon, himself a lighthouse keeper on the west coast of Scotland. The story involves a "silkie" — a seal who can take the form of a human being, or take away a human to become a seal—a teaching which came down through the ages among travelling folk of Scotland. Jo moved to the Monadnock region two years ago from the northwoods of Wisconsin. She first pursued storytelling as a teaching tool while working as a reading specialist in a northern Illinois school system. She later became a professional storyteller and for the past 16 years has told stories and presented workshops for schools, libraries, environmental centers, retirement homes, conferences and festivals. She is currently a volunteer with the National Earth Institute Network and has volunteered with the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute as a loon observer and wolf tracker. When not directly involved in the art of storytelling or environmental work, Jo can be found walking wooded trails, mountain climbing, skiing, swimming, working out, devouring a stack of books, or swapping stories with friends and family members. For more information call 603 924 7127 or write joputnam@verizon.net.
When Rahel returned to the USA after 22 years in Israel, she left behind her a legacy of music making. She had performed in duos, trios, and performing groups such as the Jerusalem Folk, Oovabloe, and Israel's original leading all-woman band, Tofa'ah www.tofaah.com) . She was a regular at Jacob's Ladder Annual Folk Festival (www.jlfestival.com), and a two-time winner of the AACI English Songwriting Competition. ... In 1998 Rahel returned to the USA to pursue her musical career. She released her first solo CD, Time Passes By, in 2000, which includes two psalms in its repertoire (www.cdbaby.com/annrachel). Soon afterwards she enrolled in the Music for Healing and Transition Program (www.mhtp.org), a course of study which, in recognition of music as a therapeutic enhancement to the healing process and the life/death transition, prepares musicians to serve the ill and/or dying and all those who may benefit by providing live music as a service to create a healing environment. Remaining true to her faith, Rahel is immersed in the study of Jewish healing traditions. Currently a New Hampshire resident, Rahel has been featured in venues including the Mariposa Museum, Borders Cafe, Aesop's Cafe, Toadstool Bookstore, Santos Dumont Coffeehouse, The Round Room, First Friday Coffeehouse, Cafe on the Corner; and at Pumpkin Festivals, Alternative Health Festivals, Concerts on the Oval, Farmer's Markets, Nashua's Annual Winter Stroll, High Hopes Balloon Festival, Wilton Arts & Film Festival, Public Libraries in Maryland and NH; and at the National Havurah, the Jewish Federations of NH and Arizona, the Conference on Judaism in Rural New England, and Hadassah. For more information write tikkunrahel@empire.net
A successful performing musician for over fifteen years, Christopher Schaub has been involved with many different styles of music including classical, avant-garde and jazz. Trained from an early age on piano and later percussion, guitar and lute, Christopher pursued musical studies at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After college, Christopher performed around the Boston area with various groups as a player and group leader and studied privately with Charlie Banacos, Alan Dawson, John Ramsey and Frank Wallace. Christopher also taught private lessons to students in the Boston area. In addition to playing the lute and singing, Christopher specializes in recording live acoustic and classical music. Christopher lives in Brattleboro, VT and is currently playing a Vihuela by Cezar Mateus and a seven course Renaissance lute by Michael Schreiner. For more information on the artist, visit http://www.christopherschaub.com.
"The guitar was a drum before it was a guitar." From this idea come the driving rhythms and agile percussion that rock the progressive groove songwriting and capture the audiences of solo guitarist Zo Tobi. "The physical act of playing, of dancing hands and fingers," he says, "is just as important as the actual creation of the music." Zo's sense of non-conformity and "dancing hands and fingers" may call to mind guitarists such as Ani DiFranco, Richie Havens, Dave Matthews, & Michael Hedges. While transforming the guitar into a powerful array of rich bass, lush open tunings, and signature pulsing beats, Zo's act puts the song before showiness. Drawing vocally from Bono, Ben Harper, & Shawn Mullins, his songs are vigorously political, spiritual, & romantic alike. A seasoned and engaging performer, he has brought his progressive groove rock to New England venues since 1998, covering Tammany Hall & the Java Hut in Worcester, MA; the Wilton Arts and Film Festival in Wilton, NH; Jonathan's in Ogunquit, ME; and the National Guitar Workshop in New Milford, CT. "Music is not enough if you have not changed people's minds at the end of the day," he says. Drawing on the experience of artists such as the Indigo Girls and Coldplay, he seeks to infuse his music and performing with his deep concern for environmental responsibility and economic justice. In February 2004, he glimpsed his potential for achieving this feat when he raised $1,900 for a service project in Nicaragua, from hundreds of small donations collected from sales of a homemade CD sampling 17 tracks of his live music. His July 2004 studio release, FROM THE LAYERS THAT SURROUND YOU, is a ten song collection that will once again put his ambitious desire to integrate activism and music to the test: all CD sales during Summer 2004 tour stops will go towards funding a fall organizing campaign in which Zo will focus on bringing clean energy and mercury issues to the forefront of Election 2004. For more information visit www.zotobi.com.
Windborne is a young trio comprised of Will Thomas of Rindge and Lynn Mahoney and Lauren Breunig of Vermont. All are veterans of Village Harmony summer singing groups; they have a rich repetoire of traditional music from around the world with rich harmonies. They perform songs from Appalachia, Bulgaria and the Republic of Georgia, ballads, and some original vocal music composed by Thomas, often poetry arranged for vocal duo or trio. Will just returned from a tour in England with Northern Harmony. For more information write lynn_star_m@yahoo.com.
Nicaraguan folk dancing performed by members of "Women in Action," a Nicaragua women's organization. A six-member dance ensemble that will perform traditional folklore dances in cultural costumes. Sponsored by <A HREF="http://compas1web.tripod.com/" TARGET="blank">Compas de Nicaragua (Friend of Nicaragua). other cultures, the world will know more peace and less war. 
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