TTU Celtic Ensemble and Elegant Savages Orchestra will present the Concert, "Into the West" on Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 8:00 pm in Hemmle Recital Hall on the TTU Campus. Admission is Free!
Guest artists include:
Sarah Harris, steel pan
Roger Landes, English bagpipe/bouzouki
Dr. Ben Robinette, voice/saxophone/dance
Members of the Celtic Ensemble and Elegant Savages Orchestra:
Dr. Christopher Smith, director;
Ashley Allen (fiddle), Zac Barron (percussion), Heather Beltz (flute, whistle), Rachel Brown (clarinet, recorder), Anthony Cahill (clarinet, whistle), Xavier Degrate (fiddle, voice), Nikit Desai (viola), Rachel Elder (fiddle, dance), Carrie Evans (clarinet, whistle), Joanna Gatlin (flute), Mark Gurrola (accordion, trumpet, piano), Sean Kennedy (tuba), Kathryn Mann (voice, dance), Marusia Pola Mayorga (cello), Garrett McNutt (viola, tenor banjo, mandolin, voice), Eunji Grace Park (fiddle), James Patterson (percussion), Jaclyn Paul (percussion, voice, dance), Jakob Reynolds (fiddle, bouzouki, voice), Abi Rhoades (fiddle, voice, dance captain), Felicia Rojas (fiddle, voice, dance), Steve Stallings (guitar, voice), Stephanie Streseman (voice, dance), Nathan Thorpe (voice), Cassie Vandersloot (flute, voice, dance), Morgan White (voice, dance), James Wilkinson (ukulele, voice).
Website: ttucelticensemble.com
About the Music:
In the world of Irish traditional folk arts and folklore, an Larthair ("the West") is a land of almost infinite promise. In the wild country "beyond the Pale" (the English-speaking settlements of Dublin and Belfast), the sean-nos ("old style") language, dancing, song, and story still held sway. Pushed by the spread of English, the music, singing and dancing retreated to the ancient kingdoms of Munster (especially Cork, Kerry, Clare, and Limerick) and Connacht (Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim), where the soil was thin and the weather was fierce, but where the old traditions stayed strong. The mythical land of Tir na nOg, the Isles of the Blessed--perhaps a recollection of St. Breandan the Navigator's voyage in a skin coracle to the New World--lay over the western horizon, and those who wished could slip the bonds of the city and the modern world and escape to a wilder, more rooted, communal experience.
That's where we're going tonight.
About Bassanda:
Major inspiration comes from the fictional country of "Bassanda," a creation fo Taos-based musicians and VMC partners Chipper Thompson (chipperthompson.com) and Roger Landes (rogerlandes.com), who for purposes of our January 2014 debut assumed their Bassanda personae ("The Rev" and "The General") as guest performers. When TTU Theatre & Dance faculty member Nicole Wesley (alias "Bronislava Nijinska") joined the creative team as choreographer, the die was cast, and we were committed to exploring this "symphonic folkloric" music and dance in whatever directions it took us. We imagined the fictional "Elegant Savages Orchestra," in which, as part of an "alternate-history" frame, it's alleged that a Soviet satellite's official state ensemble (the Bassanda National Radio Orchestra") had mutated, after the fall of Communism, into a free-lance ensemble engaged in a Never-Ending Tour.
Correspondence, personal biographies, timelines, galleries, historical & archival commentary at: www.elegantsavagesorchestra.com; likewise search Facebook for "Elegant Savages Orchestra."
Caprock Morris (Border Morris):
Wee Ellen, Long Jaren, Tall Mike, Morgan the Fay, Jake-of-All-Trades, Hellflower, Bloody Belinda the Viking (musician)
website: caprockmorris.com
The Eagle's Heart Sisters (Contemporary dance):
Nicole Wesley, choreographer
Aimee Dixon, Leslie Gomez, Kris Olson, Abi Rhoades, Felicia Rojas, Samantha Wilde
Photographer: Tiffany Holmes
Website: tifholmes.com
Social Media Wrangler: Christopher Hepburn
Brewmasters: Milhouse Brewing Co.
Acknowledgements:
Cheir continuing and particular appreciation to: Ms. Rachel Boyd, Professor Will Streider and Director Bill Ballenger of the School of Music and Dean Carol Edwards of the College of Visual and Performing Arts; to the faculty, students, and staff of the TTU School of Music; and to Clint Barrick and the staff of KTTZ FM.
Video Stream: https://www.youtube.com/user/ttuschoolofmusic/feed.
The Vernacular Music Center Scholarship at Texas Tech University
The Celtic Christmas is a fundraiser for the competitive Vernacular Music Center Scholarship at Texas Tech University, which provides financial assistance to a student in the College of Visual and Performing Arts ( in 2014-15, Mr. James Patterson) who is a practicioner of one of more traditional performance idioms. For more information, please be in touch with Dr. Christopher Smith at christopher.smith@ttu.edu
The VMC Outreach Scholars Program helps fund young performers of great promise for attendance at workshops summer camps, and festivals, in order that they may develop teaching skills to share in future with their communities.
To find out more about the Outreach Scholars, and for news & information on VMC events: visit vernacularmusiccenter.org
Can I participate?
Yes! If you are interested in participating in one of the VMC ensembles or partners (Celtic Ensemble, Tzumba World Music, Early Music Ensemble, Irish Set Dancers, Caprock Morris, Balkan Ensemble, Mbira Group, Elegant Savages Orchestra, Mariachi Los Matadores, Tango Camerata etc.), feel free to contact their respective directors (see vernacularmusiccenter.cm/ensembles.html).
Auditions typically occur in the first weeks of each academic semester.
VMC Administrative Coordinator: Ms. Abi Rhoades
VMC Administrative Assistant: Ms. Candice Holley
VMC Documentarian: Ms. Marusia Pola Mayorga
Be looking for our very special VMC Spring 2015 events:
February 13: Jazz-Age Mardi Gras with the VMC
March 9-10: Carlos Nunez and Band, Legacy
March 28: Dancing with Mr. Darcy and Dr. Who, TTU Art Museum
Radio Broadcast:
We are recording, broadcasting, and streaming live tonight, and we appreciate your participation! However, because of this, we ask you to be especially thoughtful about cell phones, pagers, and any extraneous noise during the performance,. Many thanks!
Notice Regarding Electronics:
Please refrain from the use of flash photography during this concert. Such use is an infringement of TTU copyright policy and represents a safety hazard for performers. Thank you for your consideration.
The Vernacular Music Center at TTU School of Music:
The mission of the VMC is to provide a center for in-depth and comparative research, study, teaching and advocacy on behalf o the world's vernacular musics and dance--their construction, history and role in defining cultural life in human communities--in all cultures and historical periods. The VMC is dedicated to the study of the process by which music is taught and passed on within a community, as well as assisting in the ongoing cultivation of arts on the South Plains. The VMC partners with its 502c3 partner, the Roots Music Institute (rootsmusicinstitute.com)
Become a Friend of the VMC!
Visit us at vernacularmusiccenter.org for more information!
Donations: http://give2Tech.com/, search "Celtic Ensemble VMC Gifts"
