We have a new video--live as of just a few hours ago from the fabulous Trent Waterman of North Shore Sessions. It is here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S1FiMhjGMY
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Thank you all for the notes and comments - we are delighted that you all listened last week, and that you are all reaching out. Knowing that you all enjoy this music makes us love it even more!
People--including Mr. Keillor--ask us all the time, "So, why Balkan music?" And the story is both rich and simple. Simply, we sing this music because it is incredibly beautiful. Each of us found our way Balkan music in a different way, but when we heard it, we each instantly decided to learn more. We absolutely adore this music - Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Albanian, Roma, Gorani, even the non-Balkan ones, Russian, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Georgian, all of it. To everyone who was born into this heritage, thank you thank you. We've experienced an immense generosity from folks from these countries in the past, and that is what makes us able to keep learning new music. Teachers, musical idols, composers - so so many people whose lives exist in a deep and powerful connection to this music - have all generously decided to share their art with us, and it is our deep honor to sing it, too. Borders have changed over time, powerful and enduring pain runs through so many of us as a legacy of the way cultures have been persecuted, squashed, and tyrannized at different moments throughout time. We know that by claiming certain identities and naming certain histories (especially in identifying songs as being from certain countries) we are also articulating certain historical narratives, even without intending to. But the bottom line for us is that we sing this music not because it comes from any one country, but simply because it is beautiful. We remember so many histories of culture being banned and exiled, locked behind safe house doors, and we delight--absolutely delight!--in the opportunity to sing it loud in gardens, cathedrals, and over the airwaves. If you would like to share your stories of pain or of joy in remembering this music's history, please contact us on the contact page. We want to hear your story and your music. Thank you so much for it. So, we heard a polar vortex is returning to North America this week. And, of course, we are planning a tour to Minnesota. BUT, nothing can stop the Nightingale Trio!
We are eager and excited looking forward to our performance on "A Prairie Home Companion" this Saturday, but we can't forget also the other lovely live performances we will be giving in the Twin Cities while we are there. On Friday, January 24th, we will be playing at the Verdant Tea Tasting Room, which promises to be a delicious spot to spend a Friday evening. They have tea flights! Also, on Sunday, January 26th, we will be sharing our music with the services at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis. This is a beautiful church where many of the best choirs in the country (and the world?) have sung, and where many of the choral leaders of Minneapolis attend services. It will also be a lovely morning. So hit us up in the Twin Cities, or listen in on Saturday! We can't wait. The Nightingale Trio will be appearing as musical guests on A Prairie Home Companion on January 25th!
We will be joining Garrison Keillor and the cast for a live taping in St. Paul, Minnesota, which will be aired nationally on Public Radio. No, "a prairie home companion" is not a rural dating service. It's a radio show! We swear, their jokes are better than ours. We can't wait to have you listen in, and to share this new experience! Some things to know if you want to listen in - The show is broadcast live from 5:00-7:00 Central Time from St. Paul. Check with your own local Public Radio station for when the show airs in your area. OR, you can listen here: www.prairiehome.org For folks around the Twin Cities, come join us at the Fitzgerald Theater - www.prairiehome.publicradio.org/tickets/ Just need to share some more details about a special performance we will be giving in California during our upcoming tour.
At the Rose Street House of Music on December 6, the Nightingale Trio will be singing as part of Rise Up, a concert to benefit families participating in the EOPS and CalWORKs Programs at Laney College. 100% of proceeds from the concert will go towards families who are rising from poverty to careers through community college education, supported by programs like "Adopt A Family" holiday gift-giving and emergency transportation to college classes. We are all invested in serving our own home communities, so we are delighted to be able to give back to Berkeley, too! Hope to see you all there. Friday, December 6, 8pm www.rosestreetmusic.com Rose Street House of Music 1839 Rose Street, near MLK, Berkeley $10-999 sliding scale, 5-9 for low income, volunteer exchange available We'll be appearing around the Bay Area in California on December 5-8. Check out our calendar for dates and venues. Mmm... warm up the cider for some new wintery songs, too: including a song in -- dah dah! -- Belarusian. Always something new.
We had a lovely, lovely tour in Minnesota over the weekend of September 25-29. A neighborhood festival, children's chapel, house show, downtown church, and local café: every show was a little different, but folks here in Minneapolis showed us the best hospitality we could imagine. Thanks especially to our hosts on 21st Avenue --
Some nice publicity from the director of choirs at Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC), Liz Pauly: http://www.doctorlizmusic.com/mctcchoirs/?p=1247. Thanks for your kind words, Liz!
Also, Minneapolis tour commences in T-minus ZERO HOURS -- Rachel will be getting off the plane momentarily. Nila arrives Wednesday, and then the fun begins. See you all at our shows this weekend: view full tour schedule! You can download "Ja Urani Jutros Rano" from our bandcamp page now, too.
A little story: this is one of the songs that we sang together in its current arrangement - Nila, Sarah, and Rachel - while we were still at Yale, singing with the Yale Slavic Chorus (www.yaleslavicchorus.com). At one point, during our last year at Yale, the Chorus was hired to sing at a private dinner hosted by the University President for two special guests: Prince Aleksandr of Serbia and his spouse, Princess Katharine of Greece. These two royals have been living in the UK, in exile from their home countries for the past 20 years or so. Their countries don't totally pay attention to the facts that they still have royal families. When we sang "Ja Urani Jutros Rano," in a quietly-lit sitting room, the Prince and Princess seated before us, the Princess started to weep. Ja Urani Jutros Rano tells the story about a boy out walking in the hills, where he meets a girl who greets him sorrowfully: "Leave me be; I am miserable. I have a true love far away, in a foreign land." When the Prince and Princess heard us sing this song, they wept for longing their homes -- for those hills, and for the sound of these ancient, heart-carried songs, and the voices of women who would sing them without ever thinking they might one day be swept up far away, unable to return. We are all back i Our first track from "Letya" is online - you can download it here: thenightingaletrio.bandcamp.com/track/bezrodna-nevesta. Enjoy!
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