SONGS OF THE SPIRIT

Monday, November 12
7:30 p.m.

An interfaith and multi-ethnic musical extravaganza promoting global unity and peace, featuring brilliant performances by Odetta, Hugh Masekela, Frank London, Tibetan Monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery, Haale, Tracy Grammer, Shangilia Children’s Choir of Kenya, and Craig Harris.  Parallel Voices Productions will mount Songs of the Spirit at Nazareth College Arts Center and the tour will continue to SUNY Oswego and St. John the Divine in New York City. 

Ticket Price: $50 

Sponsor:  Dawn and Jacques Lipson, M.D.

Web: www.parallelvoice.net/songs.html

• Odetta Considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, and called the queen of folk and blues music by the New York Times, Odetta is a National Medal of Arts recipient.
• Hugh Masekela  This distinguished horn player was born in South Africa, fought to end Apartheid, co-wrote the score for the Tony-award nominated musical “Sarafina,” toured with Paul Simon in his Graceland Tour and inspired the world music movement.  Masekela’s music has been described as a mix of jazz, Bebop, funk and Afrobeat.
• Frank London  Most widely known as a member of the Klezmatics and Hasidic New Wave, London is a trumpeter, conductor and composer.  As an in-demand sideman, he has played with John Zorn, Itzhak Perlman, Allan Ginsberg, Mel Tormé, Natalie Merchant, L.L. Cool J, and Chava Alberstein.
• Tibetan Monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery  Famous for their cultivation of the unique Tibetan multiphonic singing style called overtone singing, the Monks’ sacred vocal performances incorporate traditional masked dances, and are intended to preserve Tibetan culture and promote world peace and healing.
• Haale  The influences of her native New York and Iranian born parents have yielded songs in English of the folk rock tradition and songs with lyrics from mystic Persian and Iranian poets like Rumi, Attar and Forugh in Farsi.
• Tracy Grammer  Tracy Grammer is acclaimed for her virtuosi skills on the violin and for the sincerity and clarity of her voice.  The Boston Globe once called Grammer "one of the finest pure musicians in folkdom."
• Shangilia Children’s Choir of Kenya  The members of this harmonic choir are residents of Shangilia, a sanctuary for street children in the Kangemi slum of Nairobi.  Their inspirational performances combine singing Swahili and American gospel music with acrobatics.
• Craig Harris  This multitalented jazz trombonist is also a composer, performer, conceptualist, curator and artistic director of Nation of Imagination.  He has collaborated with Eastern European gypsy musicians and created Brown Butterfly, a multimedia work based on the physical movement of Muhammad Ali.