16 17 SEASON music at emory university Music & Storytelling: An Evening with Anna & Elizabeth Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth Laprelle monday, september 26, 2016, 8:00 p.m. performing arts studio 1804 north decatur road
program Program selections will be announced from the stage by Anna & Elizabeth. Program Notes A collaboration between Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth Laprelle, the pair s growing acclaim springs from a shared quartet of talents: Both are historians, storytellers, visual artists, and gifted, intuitive musicians in combination, a groundbreaking approach. Inspired by the richness and tradition of the music, Anna & Elizabeth gather songs and stories from archives and visits with elders. They bring these songs to life in performance with sparse, atmospheric arrangements using guitar, banjo, fiddle, and the uncanny blend of their voices in close harmony. They accompany their songs with stories of the lyrics, of the singer, of the quest to learn the song and they illustrate them in mesmerizing fashion. The two revive the old scrolling picture show, dubbed crankies intricate picture-scrolls illustrating the old songs they sing, which they create in tandem with papercuts, shadow puppets, prints, and embroidered fabric. Anna & Elizabeth met in 2011, and their work has brought them to stages across the world, including the Atlanta Museum of Modern Art; folk festivals in Brooklyn, the Yukon, Chicago, Maine, and Uzbekistan; residencies at universities; summer traditional music schools; and small theaters and folk clubs across the United States and the United Kingdom. Their second album, which features Grammy nominee and legendary folk singer Alice Gerrard, was released in March 2015 on Free Dirt Records. It has been featured on Vice s Noisey, the Huffington Post, No Depression, and NPR s Tiny Desk Concert series. In 2016, Anna & Elizabeth have engaged in a new cycle of work, inspired by ballad singers of the 1930s and 1940s in Vermont and Virginia the states where they grew up. Spending time in archives, with the families of these singers, and with a director, Anna & Elizabeth will explore connections between place and tradition to develop a new show, a new set of crankies, and a new album inspired by these ballads. 2
performer biographies Photo by Brett Winter Lemon Photography. Elizabeth Laprelle, 28, has pursued her interest in mountain ballads for more than a decade. Since the release of her debut album at age 16, she s been hailed as one of the most dedicated students of the traditional unaccompanied style of her generation. The student of master singer Ginny Hawker and National Heritage Fellow Sheila Kay Adams, Laprelle was the first recipient of the Henry Reed Award from the Library of Congress at age 16 and she won the 2012 Mike Seeger Award at Folk Alliance International. She has released three solo ballad albums, and was called the best young Appalachian ballad singer to emerge in recent memory by UK s froots magazine. She lives on a farm in Rural Retreat, Virginia. Anna Roberts-Gevalt, 28, is a versatile and passionate multi-instrumentalist. Classically trained on the violin in Vermont, she fell in love with the sound of banjo in college, moved to the mountains, and learned with master musicians in Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina. She is a blue-ribbon fiddler and banjo player (West Virginia State Folk Fest, Kentucky Fiddle Contest); was awarded the Berea Archive Fellowship for a series of biographies of female fiddlers; served three years as artistic director of Kentucky s traditional music institute, the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School; was a 2014 fellow in the United States Department of State sponsored international music residency OneBeat; and is an in-demand video artist, collaborating with Kristin Andreassen, Cuddle Magic, Rachel Ries, and Ben Sollee. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland. 3
Upcoming Music Events Go to music.emory.edu to view the complete list of upcoming music events. For more information contact the Arts at Emory Box Office at 404-727-5050, or visit arts.emory.edu. Ticket prices are listed in the following order: Full price/discount category member price/emory student price (unless otherwise noted as the price for all students). Visit arts.emory.edu to see if you qualify for a discount. Friday, September 16, noon, Vega String Quartet, ECMSA: Cooke Noontime Series, Michael C. Carlos Museum, free Sunday, September 18, 4:00 p.m., Beethoven s Seventh, ECMSA: Emerson Series, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free Saturday, September 24, 8:00 p.m., Clarinet Meets Guitar, An Evening of Schubert, Piazzolla, and More, Jeffrey Brooks, clarinet, and guest artist Silviu Ciulei, guitar, artist affiliate recital, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free Monday, September 26, 8:00 p.m., An Evening with Anna and Elizabeth: Songs and Stories, Performing Arts Studio, 1804 N. Decatur Rd., free Saturday, October 1, 8:00 p.m., Branford Marsalis Quartet with special guest Kurt Elling, Candler Concert Series, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, $75/$60/$10 Sunday, October 2, 4:00 p.m., Invitation to the Dance, ECMSA: Family Series, Michael C. Carlos Museum,free Thursday, October 6, 6:00 p.m., Jazz on the Green, Patterson Green, free Saturday, October 8, 8:00 p.m., Dreamers of Dreams, Atlanta Master Chorale, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, $20/$15/$10 Thursday, October 13, 8:00 p.m., Keiko Ransom, piano, artist affiliate recital, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free Thursday, October 13, Friday, October 14, and Saturday, October 15, 7:30 p.m., EXPOSED: A Festival of Groundbreaking Dance and Theater from Israel, Yossi Berg and Oded Graf Dance Theatre, Come Jump with Me, Candler Concert Series, Schwartz Center, Dance Studio, $25/$15/$12 Saturday, October 15, 8:00 p.m., The Music of Shakespeare, University Chorus, Concert Choir, and William Ransom, piano, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free Sunday, October 16, 4:00 p.m., Herbert Karp Memorial Concert and Life Celebration, ECMSA: Emerson Series, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free 4
Thursday, October 20, 2:30 p.m. and Friday, October 21, 5:45 p.m., German Art Song Symposium with Lindsey Christiansen, Performing Arts Studio, 1804 N. Decatur Rd., free Thursday, October 20, 6:00 p.m., Jazz on the Green, Patterson Green, free Thursday, October 20, Friday, October 21, and Sunday, October 23, 7:30 p.m., EXPOSED: A Festival of Groundbreaking Dance and Theater from Israel, Anat Grigorio, Mr. Nice Guy, and Hillel Kogan, We Love Arabs, Candler Concert Series, Schwartz Center, Dance Studio, $25/$15/$12 Friday, October 21, noon, Matt Haimovitz, cello, and Tim Fain, violin, ECMSA: Cooke Noontime Series, Michael C. Carlos Museum, free Saturday, October 22, 8:00 p.m., Emory University Symphony Orchestra with Matt Haimovitz, cello, and Tim Fain, violin, Schwartz Foundation Artists in Residence, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free, tickets required Sunday, October 23, 4:00 p.m., Emory Wind Ensemble: American Perspectives, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free Tuesday, October 25, 8:00 p.m., The President s Own United States Marine Band, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free, tickets required Friday, October 28, 8:00 p.m., Robert McDuffie, violinist; R.E.M. s Mike Mills, composer; Fifth House Ensemble; Candler Concert Series, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, $50/$40/$5 Sunday, October 30, 7:00 p.m., Emory s Annual Concerto and Aria Competition, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free Saturday, November 5, 8:00 p.m., Ransom CD Release Concert and Art Exhibition, ECMSA: Emerson Series, Schwartz Center, Emerson Concert Hall, free Arts at Emory Box Office/Audience Information 404-727-5050 arts.emory.edu IN CONSIDERATION Please turn off all pagers and phones. PHOTOGRAPHS AND RECORDINGS Not permitted without advance permission. COUGH DROPS In lobby, courtesy of Margery and Robert McKay. USHERS Members of Music at Emory Volunteers and Alpha Phi Omega, a national service and social fraternity. Call 404-727-6640 for ushering opportunities. event and program information Available online at arts.emory.edu. FRONT cover photo credit: Mark Teague Back cover photo credits: Clockwise (from top left): Emory University Symphony Orchestra, Tony Benner; Barenaked Voices, Emory Photo/Video; Emory Concert Choir: courtesy of Emory Concert Choir; Emory Jazz Big Band, Bill Head. THE TREE LIGHTS in Allen Plaza were installed by Illuminating Design, specialists in holiday and outdoor lighting. illuminating-design.com 5