Performance Series events are made possible by grants from the NorAM/Minnegasco Foundation, Prairie Ecology Bus, Incorporated, and by Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council, Waseca from appropriations by the Minnesota State Legislature.
Cooker JohnGo to Concerts and Events page
John Sagner (Cooker John) is a folk and blues slide guitarist who was born in Newark, New Jersey, shortly after the end of World War II. He now lives in St. Paul and plays guitar, as he has done for fifty years. Cooker's music has been described as peaceful, authentic, and gritty. He offers a genuine voice coupled with a musical sensibility informed by the folk, rock, and blues traditions. His music presents a return to the roots of folk and blues mixed with his own wry original compositions.
During Cooker's checkered career he has opened for John Hartford, Jerry Jeff Walker, Chuck Berry, and The Loving Spoonful. He has performed in countless bars and coffeehouses throughout New York, New Jersey, and the Midwest and has also played extensively in Mexico, performing at Roots in Cancun and Zamas in Tulum.
John's first CD, Larry's Road Trip, released in 1995, won the Minnesota Music Award for Best New Folk Artist. His second release Grocery Store was voted one of the top ten local releases of the year 1997 by Star Tribune Music Critic, Jim Walsh. Since that time Cooker has released several more CDs including Life Down Here, School of Life, Alive and Alone, Live at Dunn Bros, and a recent compilation available at gigs entitled Settle For You.
Website: www.cookerjohn.com
Scottie MillerGo to Concerts and Events page
New Orleans/Delta/Barrelhouse/piano blues and rich and soulful vocals. Miller's piano playing re-kindles the long lost styles and spirits of legendary players like Professor Longhair, Otis Spann, and Pinetop Perkins. Scottie recently finished a 2-month USA tour with Bo Diddley and Friends featuring Alvin Youngblood Hart and Ruthie Foster. Scott was a Finalist in the "Solo/Duo" category at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2005 and nominated in 2007 for "Best-Unsigned Blues Recording" (IBC/Blues Foundation Memphis).
Website: www.scottiemiller.com
Harry ManxGo to Concerts and Events page
Harry Manx has been dubbed an "essential link" between the music of East and West, creating musical short stories that wed the tradition of the Blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. His unique sound is bewitching and deliciously addictive to listen to.
Born on the Isle of Man, Manx spent his childhood in Canada and left in his teens to live in Europe, Japan, India and Brazil. He honed his hypnotic live show on street corners, in cafes, bars and at festivals. But it was Indian music that captured his attention and in the mid 80s he began a five-year tutelage with Rajasthani Indian musician Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (Grammy winner with Ry Cooder for A Meeting by the River). Receiving the gift of Bhatt's custom-made, self-designed mohan veena (a 20-stringed sitar/guitar hybrid) was the catalyst for Harry to forge a new path with his now signature east-meets-west style of music. While the mohan veena itself is beyond exotic, Manx uses it within traditional Western sound structures.
A successful touring performer, Manx has brought his "breathtaking" solo shows across Canada and into the USA, Australia, and Europe. He has appeared at many prestigious festivals, world-class theatres, concert halls and infamous Blues clubs around the globe. Playing the Mohan Veena, lap steel, harmonica, stomp box, and banjo, Manx quickly envelops the audience into what has been dubbed "the Harry Zone" with his warm vocals and the hauntingly beautiful melodies of his original songs.
Manx's latest CD, another collaboration with Canadian guitar wonder Kevin Breit called "In Good We Trust", was released on Stony Plain Records in the spring of 2007 to glowing reviews.
Harry has received three Maple Blues Awards and his mantle shelf also holds honors from the Canadian Folk Music Awards, Vancouver magazine Georgia Straight, and the South Australia Blues Society. Most recently he was the recipient of CBC Radio's Great Canadian Blues Awards for 2007. Other accolades in 2007 include two Maple Blues awards (for Acoustic Act of the Year with Kevin Breit and Songwriter of the Year) and two Canadian Folk Music Award nominations (with Kevin Breit), for "Best Ensemble" and "Pushing the Boundaries". In addition, "In Good We Trust" was nominated for a Western Canada Music Award for Outstanding Roots Recording (duo).
Blend Indian folk melodies with slide guitar blues, add a sprinkle of gospel and some compelling grooves and you'll get Manx's unique "mysticssippi" flavor. It's hard to resist, easy to digest and keeps audiences coming back for more.
Website: www.harrymanx.com
Eastern BlokGo to Concerts and Events page
Downbeat Magazine claims that "the ensemble playing is often breakneck and consistently challenging."
Acoustic Guitar Magazine raves that Eastern Blok plays with "blazing virtuosity and sheer beauty."
Eastern Blok "extraordinary pan-cultural ensemble effortlessly blends classical and jazz music with the rich folkloric traditions of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Serbia. The resulting music is as alluring as it is complex. Exotic Middle Eastern motifs merge gracefully with the evocative sounds of Eastern European klezmer music. Beautifully conceived folk passages are followed by perfectly executed Mahavishnu-inspired pyrotechnics. The passion and urgency at which this group plays is heard in every note…" (Minor 7th Magazine).
Eastern Blok features classical guitar virtuoso Goran Ivanovic, joined by Doug Rosenberg on woodwinds, Matthew Ulery on upright bass, and Michael Caskey on percussion.
The band was originally dubbed Goran Ivanovic Group by founding members Ivanovic and Rosenberg. They teamed up with Ulery and Caskey in 2004. After successfully packing venues throughout the country and honing their musical direction, the band released their self-titled debut album in 2005. "The Goran Ivanovic Group" record met with critical acclaim, combining traditional folk music from the Balkans along with Latin, flamenco and klezmer elements, European classical influences and American jazz. The track "Blacksmith's Dance" was selected out of thousands of submissions as one of three finalists in the 2005 John Lennon Songwriting Competition.
In 2006, the group began performing under the name Eastern Blok. At this point, it had already been invited to present educational concerts and master classes at major universities like Princeton, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, and University of Michigan among others. The group's sound, its musical influences and the academic training of the band members worked especially well as an educational springboard at music schools across the country.
Year 2007 brought the group further recognition following their performance on Chicago Public Radio's "Chicago Undercover," and their headlining of the World Music Festival in Chicago.
Eastern Blok's next record, "Folk Tales," was recorded that same year and released at their performance in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. "Folk Tales" features a somber, serious sound with a lively and elusive beat. Having drawn upon highly dynamic classical and jazz aesthetics rather than relying on a recent fad of gypsy-jam-band antics, Eastern Blok maintained a timeless sound and virtuosic approach.
With "Folk Tales" in hand, the group continues trekking across the country, performing at venues like Blues Alley and Twins Jazz in Washington D.C., The Metro and Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in Chicago, The Krannert Center in Urbana, Joe's Pub and Makor in NYC and Chris Jazz in Philadelphia to name just a few.
Website: www.easternblok.net/home.html
Nadine B. Andreas Artists in Residence
Go to Concerts and Events page
Brenda Brenner currently serves as assistant director of the Indiana University String Academy, a position she has held since 1993. During her tenure at the Eastman School of Music, Brenner was a member of the award-winning Augustine Quartet. Ken Huber performs throughout the United States, with frequent appearances in New York City. He often collaborates with opera singers of the Metropolitan, New York, and Vienna State Opera Companies.
Website: info.music.indiana.edu/sb/page/normal/1266.html
Website: apps.carleton.edu/curricular/musc/faculty/
Nadine B. Andreas Artists in Residence
A Stompin' SuiteGo to Concerts and Events page
Award-winning Minnesota writer Philip Bryant teams with renowned jazz pianist Carolyn Wilkins to capture the sights and sounds of post-war America as seen and heard through the eyes and ears of two old friends whose lives—and loves—spin joyously around jazz. The performance features Wilkins' original jazz compositions inspired by Bryant's poems. A Stompin' Suite: he reads, she plays—a cross-country collaboration over time and space.
Website: www.blueroadpress.com/?page_id=13
Nadine B. Andreas Artists in Residence
Solar String BandGo to Concerts and Events page
From the flatlands of the Midwest comes a band of urban hillbillies who joined the bluegrass revolution and set out to bring the mountain sounds to those seeking a respite from the daily grind. The Solar String Band was established in the living room of Mr. Baber's Neighbor with the intentions of nothing more than a good time. With the release of their self-titled album Mr. Baber's Neighbors offers their own interpretation of the bluegrass experience.
Website: www.baberhood.com
Rose EnsembleGo to Concerts and Events page
Based in Saint Paul, Minnesota and founded in 1996 by Artistic Director Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble creates imaginative performances of vocal music, connecting each individual to past worlds with stories of spirituality and humanity. Each presentation brings research from the world's manuscript libraries to new audiences, illuminating centuries of rarely performed repertoire. Called "first class" (Neuss-Grevenbroicher Zeitung), "Engaging…satisfying" (Gramophone), and "flawlessly performed and smoothly structured" (Cleveland Plain Dealer), The Rose Ensemble is the recipient of the 2005 Chorus America Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, and first-place winner in the sacred music category at the 2007 Tolosa International Choral Competition (Spain). With seven critically acclaimed recordings and a diverse selection of concert programs, the group has thrilled audiences across the U.S. and Europe with repertoire spanning 1,000 years and over 25 languages, including new research in Hawaiian, Swedish, Mexican and American vocal traditions. The Rose Ensemble will launch two more European tours this summer, with appearances in northern Italy in June, and an extensive performance schedule in France during July and August.
Called "The Twin Cities' most daring and imaginative vocal ensemble" by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the musicians of The Rose Ensemble have received acclaim for their ability to sing both as an ensemble and as soloists, while director Jordan Sramek has been lauded for diverse programming and ground-breaking research. Praised for "an almost supernatural blend of voices" (Early Music America Magazine), The Rose Ensemble has produced several recordings, which receive regular international airplay and have received widespread critical praise. In 2005, the group was the recipient of the prestigious Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence.
Website: www.roseensemble.org
Nadine B. Andreas Artists in Residence
Greg Herriges and Telluric CurrentsGo to Concerts and Events page
Greg Herriges plays an eclectic mix of original and traditional world ("whirled") music on guitar, voice, and bouzouki (Greek lute), with a dazzling approach honed by his studies of Asian and other international styles. A virtuoso performer and award-winning composer, his music and writing have found international acclaim.
With a background in progressive rock and classical guitar, Greg studied ethnomusicology (traditional World music), working with masters of Indian classical music, Chinese pipa, and Indonesian gamelan. Mixing those influences with his own acoustic rock sensibilities, he puts new spins on everything from Turkish folk and Bollywood film music to Japanese koto tunes and surf-rock. His full world-fusion group includes a Hindustani vocalist, tabla player, and African percussion-but he is equally at home "letting one guitar play him."
Also an author/arranger of music instructional books, Greg's recent books/CDs, World Guitar and Guitar Explorer (publ. Hal Leonard), explore the stringed traditions of the world with novel approaches on the guitar. His authoring credits also include the entire Guitar Songs for Dummies series, and contributions to Guitar Edge magazine.
Greg has been artistically active with the Indian Music Society of Minnesota (IMSOM), Schubert Club Javanese Gamelan, and many theatre groups including Ragamala Music and Dance Theater and Dreamland Arts (for whom he composed and performs music for the ongoing play of Children's Stories from India). He arranged, composed, and performed traditional and original soundtrack music for Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (Hamline University, 2007), and has composed and directed music for In the Heart of the Beast Theatre's plays Beneath the Surface and Are You Thirsty?. He has been a finalist for the McKnight Performing Artist Fellowship, and was selected to receive the 2009-2010 Bush Artist Fellowship for Music Composition.
Website: www.gregherriges.com/Entrance.html
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