Juan de Fuca Festival
The Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts (JFFA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop, promote, and present performing and visual arts for the cultural, educational and economic benefit of the communities of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo to Open Festival’s Season Concert Series, October 11, 2008, at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Auditorium, 7:30 pmThe Juan de Fuca Festival is excited to announce that the internationally renowned group LadySmith Black Mambazo will open our 2006/07 season on Saturday, October 11, at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Auditorium.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo represents the traditional culture of South Africa and is regarded as the country’s cultural emissary at home and around the world. They have performed at Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies and for President Mandela’s inauguration in 1994, and are considered a natural treasure of the new South Africa.
It has been over twenty years since Paul Simon made his initial trip to South Africa and met Joseph Shabalala, and the other members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Simon was captivated by the stirring sound of bass, alto, and tenor harmonies and incorporated these traditional sounds into the “Graceland” album, a project regarded by many as seminal to today’s explosive interest in World Music.
Their first album release for the U.S. was produced by Simon and won the Grammy Award in 1987 for Best Traditional Folk Recording. Since then they have been nominated for a Grammy Award eleven additional times, winning again in 2005. In May, 2007, Paul Simon asked the group to join him on stage when he was awarded the inaugural Gershwin Award in Washington DC
Their latest CD is a celebration of the group’s history and they are joined by Natalie Merchant, Sarah McLachlan, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Pete Seeger and the Mahotella Queens.
www.ladysmithblackmambazo.com
Tickets are $25 - $30, and can be purchased online at www.NWPerformingArts.com or by calling 360-457-5411
Fundraising Celebration & Dance, Saturday, October 25h at the Elks Lodge
Join the festivities at the Festival’s Fourth Annual Fall Dance and Celebration of the Arts. Enjoy delicious food, great live music and dancing, and a silent auction brimming with wonderful services and goods. Tickets are $20 - $25, and can be purchased online at www.NWPerformingArts.com or by calling 360-457-5411
This annual gala fundraising event will be held at the Elks Club Ballroom 131 E. First St. located in downtown Port Angeles. Proceeds raise funds for the Festival’s arts programs in the schools.
More information is available at www.jffa.org.
Battlefield Band, Friday, November 21, 2008, at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Auditorium
Inspired by their rich heritage or Celtic music and fired by the strength and vibrancy of today’s Scottish cultural scene, which indeed they have done much to create and fuel, they have led, and been at the forefront, of a great revival in Scottish music. Refusing to be limited musically, they have mixed the old songs and music with a new self-penned repertoire, all played on a fusion of ancient and modern instruments – bagpipes, fiddle, synthesizer, guitar, flutes, bodhran and accordion.
Battlefield band have been on the world’s roads for just on 30 years, distilling their own unique form of Scottish spirit and bottling it in concert and onto disc in Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Italy, Switzerland, Syria, India, Egypt, and the USA. They have broken down barriers and pioneered many new directions which others have followed.
Their continued creativity, freshness and enthusiasm is what continues to make them so popular. Their music, joyful, raucous, contemplative is always fresh and accessible to all.
www.battlefieldband.com
Tickets are $20 - $25, and can be purchased online at www.NWPerformingArts.com or by calling 360-457-5411
Tyva Kyzy, Saturday, January 17, 2009, at the Peninsula College Little Theatre
In 1998 some of the most gifted women musicians of Tuva joined under the direction of Choduraa Tumat toa form Tyva Kyzy, the first and only all-female folk ensemble performing tuvan throat-singing. Their distinctive form of singing combines the female voice with the rarely heard beauty of female throat-singing.
Tyva Kyzy utilizes a wide range of folk instruments including their own signature instrument, the chadagan, which resembles a hammered dulcimer. Their vividly textured songs fill audiences with energy and emotion. Their performances bring to life the traditions and sonic landscapes of Tuva with humorous joy, sweetness and thundering power. Tyva Kyzy brings an exciting breath of fresh air to the overtone rich melodies and natural rhythms of today’s Tuvan music.
Since its inception, the group has participated in numerous international festivals of music in Europe, Japan and the United States. Several members perform in the Tuvan National Orchestra. Their repertoire is developed through a blend of innovation and tradition. They perform a wide variety of songs from their elders and of the land. Many of their songs are very old and have rarely been heard outside of Tuva.
For more information, call the Festival office at 360-457-5411.
The 16th Annual Juan de Fuca Festival will be held on Memorial Day Weekend, 2009.
