Memorial Day Weekend Musical Memories to be made by Stephanie Bettman and Luke Halpin! (May 28th)

Stephanie Bettman is at the least a triple threat. An accomplished writer, singer, and
fiddler: her lyrics are infused with wit and wisdom, poetry and insight. Vocally she draws

comparison to the soaring soprano of Joan Baez and the plaintive emotion of Emmylou Harris. Meanwhile, her fiddling, which combines elements of bluegrass and jazz, is filled with influences from such masters as Stephane Grappelli, Byron Berline and Johnny Gimble.

A former actress and circus artist, Bettman is at ease in front of an audience and creates intimacy with her crowd no matter the size.Luke Halpin is a renowned multi-instrumentalist. A master of the guitar and the mandolin, impressive on fiddle, banjo, and adept at nearly anything he picks up. Halpin draws inspiration from the likes of Sam Bush, Mark O’Connor and Tony Rice and holds his own in comparison.
A dynamic and sensitive vocalist himself, the harmony blend he and Bettman achieve is chilling and at times simply transcendent. Halpin has a long history in the music biz, having shared the stage with the likes of Merle Haggard, Lone Star and The Steve Miller Band (to name a few). His quirky sense of humor is a perfect foil to Stephanie’s dry witty presence.Together, Bettman & Halpin are fast earning a reputation for  hypnotizing performances filled with irresistible lyrics, transcendent harmonies and roof-raising instrumentals. They have been a featured act at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS along with musical heroes Byron Berline, Michael Martin Murphy w/ Pat Flynn, and Tommy
Emmanuel.
Their music creates a fully acoustic, delightfully eclectic sound far greater than the sum of its parts: taking the listener from up-tempo down home fiddlin’, to soulful sorrowful ballads, to super hooky folk/pop with catchy melodies and lyrics that will stick with you long after the concert is over. Touring nationally together since 2008, Bettman & Halpin have been recognized in various Regional and National competitions, including:
•
• Grand Prize Winners in the So Cal Live Acoustic Music Competition
• Winners in Southern California’s Topanga Banjo / Fiddle Contest
• Music Connection’s Top 25 New Music Critiques
• Their 2 CDs have received national and international radio play and critical acclaim,
both reaching the top 10 on the National Folk DJ chart.
• They are currently working on a Live CD as well as their 3rd studio release.

www.stephaniebettman.com

    This event will take place at Susan B. English School Commons

        7:30 PM  Tickets at the door

Getting Ready for Up Coming Events!

The cogs of the wheel are turning as the Seldovia Arts Council board finishes up its selections for Spring and Summer events:

Just a taste of what is coming up:

Are you a Seldovia Arts Council member??  Celebrate that!!! Come to the special members only event May 18…entertainment by the Dan Mac Trio, snacks and punch at Stranik’s house on the Old Boardwalk.  If you are a member, this event is free of charge.  You can become a member at the event. Join US!  Please RSVP by calling 234-2060

Seldovia Arts Council Summer Schedule

May 28           Stephanie Bettman and Luke Halpin Concert

June 21-24      Seldovia Summer Solstice Music Festival with headliners James Lee Stanley, Cliff Eberhardt, Dan Crary and Thunderation

July 20      Muriel Anderson and Tierra Negra

July 28        A  Celebration for Fritz Graese  with Sue Biggs and Jack Wills

September   1     Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp  Guitar Masters Concert

September 28    Riders in the Sky Concert

 August 11          Air Force Band of the Pacific

 August 17        Oceans Film Festival

October 4             Patrick Ball Legends of  the Celtic Harp Concert

Warming up the Fall and Winter Months

The Seldovia Arts Council’s Fall and Winter Season were a great success.

Saying good-bye to Summer, Sweet Plantain, a Latin Jazz group came from New York City to weave and synthesizethe roots of jazz from many cultures into smooth jazz pieces. This cool evening was offset by a fun ice cream social in a festive atmosphere. Many thanks to Tania and Tobben Spurklin and their crew for setting up this event and the the Alaska State Council on the Arts and Westaf for helping us to fund it.

Our Winter Series kicked off  in December with the ever popular local group Billy Goat who provided the community with  hot licks at the Sea Otter Community Center.  Surrounded by friends and family the community enjoyed a pot luck supper, smiles and Christmas time cheer, finger-licking good!

Later, in February, local Native American Flute artist, Brian Slover,  warmed up the snow-covered landscape with his artistry. Even better he brought a group of his talented young students to swap tunes and create  a musical bantering that was delightful to behold and to hear.

Much thanks goes out to Laurel Hilts for co-ordinating these winter events…

A Free Book Reading by Homer Author, Nancy Lord

A Free Book Reading by Homer Author, Nancy Lord
by Seldovia Public Library

Coming this September 3…Three not to be missed!!

2011 Season Poster

2011 Season

                          The  Seldovia Arts Council will be presenting

                          a full season this summer and on into the Fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Summer Season will begin with Hot Club of Nunaka, a dynamite gypsy jazz  group from Anchorage. This group will be returning for a whole show/dance after having debuted in Seldovia at the Seldovia Summer Solstice Music Festival three years ago. Gypsy jazz has been described as follows:

Gypsy jazz (also known as “Gypsy Swing“) is an idiom often said to have been started by guitarist Jean “Django” Reinhardt in the 1930s.^[1] Because its origins are largely in France it is often called by the French name, “Jazz manouche,” or alternatively, “manouche jazz,” even in English language sources.^[2] Django was foremost among a group of Gypsy guitarists working in and around Paris in the 1930s through the 1950s, a group which also included the brothers Baro,Sarane, and Matelo Ferret and Reinhardt’s brother Joseph “Nin-Nin” Reinhardt.^[3]

Many of the musicians in this style worked in Paris in various popular Musette ensembles. The Musette style waltz remains an important component in the Gypsy jazz repertoire. Reinhardt was noted for combining a dark, chromatic Gypsy flavor with the swing articulation of the period. This combination is critical to this style of jazz. In addition to this his approach continues to form the basis for contemporary Gypsy jazz guitar. Reinhardt’s most famous group, the Quintette du Hot Club de France, also brought fame to jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli.

However, it is described Hot Club of Nunaka , articulates gypsy jazz beautifully.  You can enjoy this group cabaret/style at the  Susan B. English School Commons at 8 PM on May 29.

                                       http://hotclubofnunaka.com

Next up is the famous

                        Seldovia Summer Solstice Music Festival

Now in its 12^th year,  the festival is an eclectic mix of music, dance and workshops that will stimulate and sooth and tickle a variety of musical tastes. This year’s headlining acts include:

Moira Smiley and VOCO,  a trio of singers who  push the edge of a cappela music redefining harmony singing with the power and physicality of folksong, the avant-garde fearlessness of Bela Barok and vaudevillian combo of cello, accordion and banjo. Named #1 a cappella group in the U.S. in 2007, Moira Smiley and VOCO crate lush arrangements of sweet spell-binding American and European song and light up the stage with rompin ‘stompin body percussion and warm wit.

Jaime Michaels is an award winning singer songwriter from Santa Fe, New Mexico, who is bound to win your heart as well. Jaime has a long career of writing songs, playing in rock and roll bands, and touring the world with his body of songs.  As Mark S.Tucker remarks in his FAME review of Jaime’s newest album, The Man With The Time Machine, “Michaels watches the side currents of life, not the hurtlingly frantic noise and images…far more the missed opportunities, the mistakes, the wrinkles in the heart. We may be living through the 21st century, but work like his takes us back to a Mayberry that’s a lot scruffier around the edges, an indeterminate era when our fantasies about such things danced a little differently. .”"

Other  favorites are Alaskan  greats, Robin Hopper, Dan McElrath, Mt. Echo, The Acoustic Banana; Seldovia’s own Betsy Scott, the Rob Rurka Band and Brian Slover and touring artists from around the  world Paul Thompson from the United Kingdom , Bianca De Leon , Tex Mex song master, from Austen, Texas,  husband and wife, country artists, Don and Karen McNatt from Nashville, fiddlers, Diamonds in the Rough, from Illinois and dance teachers Anne and Rob Nelezen from Wisconsin.

The event will cover four days of free and paid events starting with free events on Thursday June 16 with a jam on the Alaska State Ferry, Tustemena and then  after dinner on to an Open Mic’ which will feature  those performers who are not included on the schedule but who would like to have a set.

The festival is officially opened June 17  with Friday, morning workshops, and Friday evening performances . It continues Saturday morning  with  around town events and then on to workshops on Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening performance.  It ends on Sunday afternoon with a gospel jam.

www.seldoviamusicfestival.wordpress.com

July 9 will feature a concert by a trio of loving  music by  Alaskan Composer/ Singer-Songwriters Shawn Zuke, Melissa Mitchell and Michelle McCaffee:

                                            Women of One Soul

This group is part of a cooperative of artists, poets and musicians that have a mission to bring music and art to confined places, communities and situations all over .  This concert will start at 8 PM and venue TBA.

www.onesoulsound.org

August 20 will feature the piano styling of Jason Farnham. Jason Farnham of Los Angeles, CA is truly THE “International Entertainer of Contemporary Piano Music”. From the baby grand at Deepak Chopra’s retreat in San Diego to the Cultural Center for the Arts in Canton, Ohio, Jason’s spectacular show “An Evening of Contemporary Piano” delights audiences around the U.S., again and again. Whether it’s his ability to connect with the audience on a personal level, the way he creates a variety of emotions through his soul-soothing compositions, Jason’s true gift of captivating the audience and taking them along on his picturesque musical journey is unmatched by any other.  The concert starts at 8PM  and venue TBA .

www.jasonfarnham.com

Labor Day weekend, September 3  heralds  the return of the annual Guitar Master’s Concerts featuring the instructors from the Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp. This year’s featured are,

Chris Proctor, Steve Kauffman, and Naked Blue.

Chris Proctor is held as one of  the world’s most innovative finger-stylists and Steve Kauman is one the world’s finest mandolin flat-pickers. Naked Blue is a harmonious husband and wife duo of sweet singer songwriters. The three will perform sets and interchanges that can be found nowhere else.  We are extremely lucky to have this opportunity to present these fine performers at 8 PM at the Susan B. English School Commons.

www.acousticalaska.com

Late October, the Seldovia Arts Council will present touring cellists Sweet Plantain. Hailing from New York City the group will grace the stage  October 30 with an original blend of beats from Latin to Classical. Sweet Plantain is a string quartet that specializes in genre-blurring, original compositions and arrangements as well as contemporary works by Latin American composers. Its unique style fuses Latin, classical, jazz, and improvisational forms. They will also present an outreach activity to the students at Susan B. English School.

                                     http://www.sweetplantain.com

The cost for most of these events is $15 $35 family

The venue for the events is normally the Susan B. English School Commons

For information on these event s please call

Susan Mumma Executive Director  907-234-7614

Or check out the Seldovia Arts Council website

                                http://seldoviaartscouncil.wordpress.com