Homegrown Plus Premiere: Chinese Hammered Dulcimer with Chao Tian
We're continuing the Homegrown Plus Premiere series with Chao Tian, a master of the yángqÃn, or Chinese hammered dulcimer, as well as a sound designer and visual artist. For her concert, Chao Tian is joined by Tom Teasley, a multidimensional percussionist, performer, and composer. As is usual for the series, this blog post includes an embedded concert video, an interview video, and a set…
Contributor:
Winick, Stephen
Date:2022-06-22
Film, Video
Conversation with Chao Tian, Chinese Dulcimer Master
Chao Tian is a master of the Chinese hammered dulcimer, as well as a sound designer and visual artist. Her creative interests include synesthesia in cross-disciplinary collaboration; interplay between visual art and music; applying Chinese musical vocabulary and philosophy to improvisation; and the use of music in conflict resolution and healing. She enjoys working across creative genres and creating multidimensional experiences for audiences. Chao…
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2022
Film, Video
Conversation with Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer and Chao Tian
Grammy-winning American Roots artists Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer join with Chinese classical hammered dulcimer player Chao Tian discuss their music, which combines music from China to Appalachia and beyond. Instrumentation includes yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer), gourd banjo, five-string banjo, ukulele, guitars, dumbek, cello-banjo and mandolin.
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2011
Film, Video
The River Boys Polka Band
The River Boys Polka Band performed as part of the Homegrown Concert Series sponsored by the American Folklife Center. Robert Schmer (accordion), Dave Beitz (hammered dulcimer), Jerry Hergenreder (trombone, vocals) and Steve Deines (bass, vocals) make up the River Boys Polka Band. They have played traditional Dutch Hop dance music together for 10 years. All four have performed at traditional weddings, anniversaries and other…
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2006
Blog
Homegrown Plus: From China to Appalachia with Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, and Chao Tian
Welcome back to Homegrown Plus! We're continuing the series with a concert and interview featuring Grammy Award winning American Roots artists Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer together with accomplished Chinese classical hammered dulcimer player Chao Tian. The trio's repertoire includes traditional Chinese and Appalachian music as well as contemporary and traditional music from around the world. They use instruments that include yangqin (Chinese hammered…
Contributor:
Winick, Stephen
Date:2024-01-10
Blog
Homegrown Plus: John McCutcheon Takes the Archive Challenge!
In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. We’re continuing the series with John McCutcheon, an American folksinger, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. McCutcheon is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer, and in the concert displayed jaw-dropping proficiency on guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, jawharp, piano, body percussion, and…
Contributor:
Winick, Stephen
Date:2020-05-11
Film, Video
From China To Appalachia: Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer with Chao Tian
Grammy Award winning American Roots artists Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer join with Chinese classical hammered dulcimer player Chao Tian in a show that combines music from China to Appalachia and beyond. Instrumentation includes yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer), gourd banjo, five-string banjo, ukulele, guitars, dumbek, cello-banjo and mandolin. The group's repertoire includes traditional Chinese and Appalachian music as well as contemporary and traditional music…
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2023
Film, Video
An-sky Yiddish Heritage Ensemble: Klezmer & Other Yiddish Music from New York
The An-sky Yiddish Heritage Ensemble -- renowned Yiddish folk singers Michael Alpert and Ethel Raim, tsimblist (hammered dulcimer player) Pete Rushefsky and violinist Jake Shulman-Ment -- celebrates the hundredth Anniversary of the historic An-sky Expedition. This 1911-1914 ethographic expedition systematically documented the Jewish folk culture of dozens of communities in Ukraine and White Russia. It is named for its leader, Yiddish writer and folklorist…
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2013
Film, Video
Traditional Greek Smyrneika Music from Massachusetts
Sophia Bilides sings and plays santouri (Greek hammered dulcimer) and zilia (finger cymbals). Smyrneika songs arose out an urban population where the music of Greeks, Turks, Jews, and Armenians influenced each other in the early decades of the 20th century. This vibrant cultural scene was shattered when conflicts led to the 1922 Asia-Minor Catastrophe. The destruction of the port city of Smyrna (Izmir) led…
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2011
Film, Video
Harmonia: Music of the Danube to the Carpathians from Ohio
Harmonia presents traditional folk music of Eastern Europe, ranging from the Danube to the Carpathians. Its repertoire reflects the cultures of this region: Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian and Gypsy. Performed on authentic folk instruments, and styled after turn-of-the-century eastern-European Gypsy bands, their music is drawn from both the urban and rural traditions of eastern Europe. The musicians come from varied eastern-European backgrounds; in…
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2013
Film, Video
Chao Tian & Tom Teasley
Chao Tian is a master of the Chinese hammered dulcimer, as well as a sound designer and visual artist. Her creative interests include synesthesia in cross-disciplinary collaboration; interplay between visual art and music; applying Chinese musical vocabulary and philosophy to improvisation; and the use of music in conflict resolution and healing. She enjoys working across creative genres and creating multidimensional experiences for audiences. Chao…
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2022
Film, Video
John McCutcheon in Concert
John McCutcheon plays music exclusively from the collections of the Library's American Folklife Center, including material from Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger's collections, as well as his own. While in his 20s, McCutcheon traveled to Appalachia, collected folk music and learned from some of the legendary greats of traditional music, such as Roscoe Holcomb, I.D. Stamper and Tommy Hunter. In addition to his own…
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2018
Film, Video
Al. Spendiaryan Qanon Ensemble: Traditional Armenian Qanon Music
Al. Spendiaryan Qanon Ensemble performs music on the qanon, a string instrument played in much of the Middle East, Maghreb, West Africa, Central Asia, and southeastern regions of Europe. This concert is presented in association with the 2018 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2018
Film, Video
John McCutcheon
For this concert, American folksinger John McCutcheon performs songs from the collections of the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress, including his own.
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2020
Film, Video
John McCutcheon Interview
John McCutcheon discusses his work as a musician, songwriter and collector of folksongs with the Library's Stephen Winick.
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2018
Film, Video
Kitchen Girl" and "Polka in G (Lady of the Lake)"
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress challenged musical artists to interpret material from its unparalleled archive of ethnographic recordings of traditional folk music. Artists were asked to put their own spin on these archival treasures, and to perform them at a special showcase during the Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City, Missouri in 2023. The showcase was recorded for this…
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2023
Film, Video
Chum Ngek
Chum Ngek plays traditional Cambodian music from Maryland.
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2020
Blog
Pics of the Week: John McCutcheon!
This week, we had a very special guest at AFC: folksinger, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John McCutcheon. John brought us a masterful performance of traditional music, much of it gleaned from fieldwork he donated years ago to the AFC archive. He also graciously sat for an oral history interview. Both were recorded and will become webcasts, …
Contributor:
Library of Congress - National Book Festival (U.S.)
Date:2011
Blog
Homegrown Plus: Rahim AlHaj Trio
In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. (Find the whole series here!) We’re continuing the series with The Rahim AlHaj Trio, an ensemble based in New Mexico playing Arabic and Persian music. The trio is led by Rahim AlHaj, an …
Contributor:
Winick, Stephen
Date:2019-01-30
Film, Video
Traditional Chinese Zheng Music from Florida
Ann Yao plays the zheng, a long, horizontal plucked zither that is one the most ancient musical instruments in China. She is joined in this performance by Wang Guowei playing the erhu, a two-stringed fiddle, and by Chen Yihan, playing the pipa, a pear-shaped lute.
Contributor:
Library of Congress - American Folklife Center
Date:2011
Blog
Homegrown Plus: Cambodian-American Heritage Dancers with Chum Ngek Ensemble
In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. (Find the whole series here!) We’re continuing the series with a concert and oral history with the Cambodian-American Heritage Dancers with Chum Ngek Ensemble. Update: in September, 2020, Chum Ngek did …
Contributor:
Hall, Stephanie
Date:2019-05-16
Blog
Homegrown Plus: Harmonia
In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. (Find the whole series here!) We’re continuing the series with Harmonia, a band from Cleveland, Ohio, which presents both rural and urban folk music of Eastern Europe, ranging from the Danube to the …
BlogHomegrown Plus Premiere: Chinese Hammered Dulcimer with Chao Tian We're continuing the Homegrown Plus Premiere series with Chao Tian, a master of the yángqÃn, or Chinese hammered dulcimer, as well as a sound designer and visual artist. For her concert, Chao Tian is joined by Tom Teasley, a multidimensional percussionist, performer, and composer. As is usual for the series, this blog post includes an embedded concert video, an interview video, and a set…
Film, VideoConversation with Chao Tian, Chinese Dulcimer Master Chao Tian is a master of the Chinese hammered dulcimer, as well as a sound designer and visual artist. Her creative interests include synesthesia in cross-disciplinary collaboration; interplay between visual art and music; applying Chinese musical vocabulary and philosophy to improvisation; and the use of music in conflict resolution and healing. She enjoys working across creative genres and creating multidimensional experiences for audiences. Chao…
Film, VideoConversation with Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer and Chao Tian Grammy-winning American Roots artists Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer join with Chinese classical hammered dulcimer player Chao Tian discuss their music, which combines music from China to Appalachia and beyond. Instrumentation includes yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer), gourd banjo, five-string banjo, ukulele, guitars, dumbek, cello-banjo and mandolin.
Film, VideoRahim AlHaj Trio: Middle Eastern Music from New Mexico The Rahim AlHaj Trio features traditional middle eastern music on the oud (Arabic lute) and antour (hammered dulcimer).
Film, VideoKiu Haghighi with Tooraj Moshref-Zadeh: Persian Santour and Tombak Music from Illinois Persian hammered dulcimer (santour) virtuoso Kiu Haghighi is accompanied by Tooraj Moshref-Zadeh on the tombak, a Persian drum.
Film, VideoThe River Boys Polka Band The River Boys Polka Band performed as part of the Homegrown Concert Series sponsored by the American Folklife Center. Robert Schmer (accordion), Dave Beitz (hammered dulcimer), Jerry Hergenreder (trombone, vocals) and Steve Deines (bass, vocals) make up the River Boys Polka Band. They have played traditional Dutch Hop dance music together for 10 years. All four have performed at traditional weddings, anniversaries and other…
BlogHomegrown Plus: From China to Appalachia with Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, and Chao Tian Welcome back to Homegrown Plus! We're continuing the series with a concert and interview featuring Grammy Award winning American Roots artists Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer together with accomplished Chinese classical hammered dulcimer player Chao Tian. The trio's repertoire includes traditional Chinese and Appalachian music as well as contemporary and traditional music from around the world. They use instruments that include yangqin (Chinese hammered…
BlogHomegrown Plus: John McCutcheon Takes the Archive Challenge! In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. We’re continuing the series with John McCutcheon, an American folksinger, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. McCutcheon is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer, and in the concert displayed jaw-dropping proficiency on guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, jawharp, piano, body percussion, and…
Film, VideoFrom China To Appalachia: Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer with Chao Tian Grammy Award winning American Roots artists Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer join with Chinese classical hammered dulcimer player Chao Tian in a show that combines music from China to Appalachia and beyond. Instrumentation includes yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer), gourd banjo, five-string banjo, ukulele, guitars, dumbek, cello-banjo and mandolin. The group's repertoire includes traditional Chinese and Appalachian music as well as contemporary and traditional music…
Film, VideoAn-sky Yiddish Heritage Ensemble: Klezmer & Other Yiddish Music from New York The An-sky Yiddish Heritage Ensemble -- renowned Yiddish folk singers Michael Alpert and Ethel Raim, tsimblist (hammered dulcimer player) Pete Rushefsky and violinist Jake Shulman-Ment -- celebrates the hundredth Anniversary of the historic An-sky Expedition. This 1911-1914 ethographic expedition systematically documented the Jewish folk culture of dozens of communities in Ukraine and White Russia. It is named for its leader, Yiddish writer and folklorist…
Film, VideoTraditional Greek Smyrneika Music from Massachusetts Sophia Bilides sings and plays santouri (Greek hammered dulcimer) and zilia (finger cymbals). Smyrneika songs arose out an urban population where the music of Greeks, Turks, Jews, and Armenians influenced each other in the early decades of the 20th century. This vibrant cultural scene was shattered when conflicts led to the 1922 Asia-Minor Catastrophe. The destruction of the port city of Smyrna (Izmir) led…
Film, VideoHarmonia: Music of the Danube to the Carpathians from Ohio Harmonia presents traditional folk music of Eastern Europe, ranging from the Danube to the Carpathians. Its repertoire reflects the cultures of this region: Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian and Gypsy. Performed on authentic folk instruments, and styled after turn-of-the-century eastern-European Gypsy bands, their music is drawn from both the urban and rural traditions of eastern Europe. The musicians come from varied eastern-European backgrounds; in…
Film, VideoChao Tian & Tom Teasley Chao Tian is a master of the Chinese hammered dulcimer, as well as a sound designer and visual artist. Her creative interests include synesthesia in cross-disciplinary collaboration; interplay between visual art and music; applying Chinese musical vocabulary and philosophy to improvisation; and the use of music in conflict resolution and healing. She enjoys working across creative genres and creating multidimensional experiences for audiences. Chao…
Film, VideoJohn McCutcheon in Concert John McCutcheon plays music exclusively from the collections of the Library's American Folklife Center, including material from Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger's collections, as well as his own. While in his 20s, McCutcheon traveled to Appalachia, collected folk music and learned from some of the legendary greats of traditional music, such as Roscoe Holcomb, I.D. Stamper and Tommy Hunter. In addition to his own…
Film, VideoAl. Spendiaryan Qanon Ensemble: Traditional Armenian Qanon Music Al. Spendiaryan Qanon Ensemble performs music on the qanon, a string instrument played in much of the Middle East, Maghreb, West Africa, Central Asia, and southeastern regions of Europe. This concert is presented in association with the 2018 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Film, VideoJohn McCutcheon For this concert, American folksinger John McCutcheon performs songs from the collections of the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress, including his own.
Film, VideoJohn McCutcheon Interview John McCutcheon discusses his work as a musician, songwriter and collector of folksongs with the Library's Stephen Winick.
Film, VideoKitchen Girl" and "Polka in G (Lady of the Lake)" The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress challenged musical artists to interpret material from its unparalleled archive of ethnographic recordings of traditional folk music. Artists were asked to put their own spin on these archival treasures, and to perform them at a special showcase during the Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City, Missouri in 2023. The showcase was recorded for this…
Film, VideoChum Ngek Chum Ngek plays traditional Cambodian music from Maryland.
BlogPics of the Week: John McCutcheon! This week, we had a very special guest at AFC: folksinger, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John McCutcheon. John brought us a masterful performance of traditional music, much of it gleaned from fieldwork he donated years ago to the AFC archive. He also graciously sat for an oral history interview. Both were recorded and will become webcasts, …
Film, VideoCarmen Agra Deedy & John McCutcheon: 2011 National Book Festival Carmen Agra Deedy & John McCutcheon appear at the 2011 National Book Festival.
BlogHomegrown Plus: Rahim AlHaj Trio In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. (Find the whole series here!) We’re continuing the series with The Rahim AlHaj Trio, an ensemble based in New Mexico playing Arabic and Persian music. The trio is led by Rahim AlHaj, an …
Film, VideoTraditional Chinese Zheng Music from Florida Ann Yao plays the zheng, a long, horizontal plucked zither that is one the most ancient musical instruments in China. She is joined in this performance by Wang Guowei playing the erhu, a two-stringed fiddle, and by Chen Yihan, playing the pipa, a pear-shaped lute.