Trending
Duo appearing at Ellen Chapel Church on Feb. 11
LEWISTOWN -- Two women plus twelve instruments equals one good time when Simple Gifts takes the stage at Ellen Chapel Church, 11798 Ferguson Valley Rd. in Lewistown on Feb. 11, starting at 7 p.m. as the first group performing at this month's Live Music Series. This award-winning band performs on an impressive array of instruments, including two violins, mandolin, hammered dulcimer, recorders, banjo, and guitar plus some more unusual instruments like the bowed psaltery, baritone fiddle, shruti box, banjolin, guitjo, and doumbek.
Simple Gifts presents a wide variety of ethnic folk music, including everything from lively Irish jigs and down-home American reels to hard-driving Klezmer freilachs, haunting Gypsy melodies, and exotic Balkan dance tunes. Throughout their performances, they put their own distinctive stamp on traditional tunes, blending styles from diverse cultures with their American roots.
According to the Celtic Classic Festival in Bethlehem, PA, "few musicians can match the warmly personal stage presence Simple Gifts possesses." It is obvious that these women love the music they play, and they know how to share their talents, their enthusiasm, and their sense of humor with the audience.
Linda Littleton and Karen Hirshon have performed as Simple Gifts since 1995. The group was founded by Littleton in 1989 and has performed throughout the mid-Atlantic region, including appearances at the Smithsonian, Brooklyn Museum of Art, National Governors' Convention, Longwood Gardens, National Theater, Whitaker Center, Hershey Theatre, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Ontario Center for Performing Arts, and dozens of colleges and universities throughout the region. Simple Gifts has opened for Natalie MacMaster, Tom Paxton, John McCutcheon, Robin and Linda Williams, Jay Unger and Molly Mason, and Boys of the Lough.
The second set features the Penn State Singing Lions starting after refreshments at 8:20 p.m. The Singing Lions are a student run group that performs on campus and at special events throughout Pennsylvania. The group will feature Penn State songs, popular selections, show tunes and interesting choreography.