ACOUSTIC DUO MOLLY MASON & JAY UNGAR PERFORM AT CHANDLER CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Sunday, May 8, 4 pm
Reserved seating: adults $25, students $5 with an adult
Folk performers Molly Mason and Jay Ungar have become one of the most celebrated duos on the American acoustic music scene, since they joined forces -both artistically and romantically- in 1991.
Since then Jay and Molly--in collaboration with baritone Thomas Hampson and pianist David Alpher--released American Dreamer, a collection of the songs of Stephen Foster. They followed with Waltzing with You, an elaboration on their score for the film Brother's Keeper, a Sundance Film Festival prizewinner. Perhaps the duo's best-known composition is the title track of The Lovers' Waltz, an album of romantic fiddle music from Appalachian, Scandinavian, Celtic, Klezmer, and Swing traditions. Harvest Home, Jay and Molly's 1999 release on Angel Records, culminates in their 20-minute orchestral work, The Harvest Home Suite, in which they are joined by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. In 2002, Jay and Molly produced, arranged and performed on A Song of Home, a collaborative recording for RCA. Now, with Relax your Mind (Angel Records), Jay and Molly, with their band Swingology, take a slightly different direction: American dance music with a focus on country blues and swing. Included are more of the beautiful waltzes that have become their signature pieces.
On radio and television, Jay and Molly have appeared on CBS Good Morning, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, All Things Considered, A Prairie Home Companion, and the BBC's Transatlantic Sessions. They continue to broadcast their own live-performance radio show, Dancing on the Air, and they have no shortage of future projects.
Sponsored by Vermont Public Radio, The Point, and Vermont Violins
Prior to the concert, Jay and Molly will host a workshop from 12-2 pm. Jay and Molly will teach and arrange a beautiful waltz and a couple of lovely reels with fiddlers, guitarists, and any other melody and backup players that wish to join in. It will be a fun and productive session with Jay focusing on melody, harmony, and ornamentation, and Molly focusing on chords, rhythm and bass lines. Those who can stick around are invited to perform the music with Jay & Molly at their 4 pm concert.
$30 (free for Vermont Fiddle Orchestra members), pay at the door or send a check to "Chandler", 71-73 Main Street, Randolph VT 05060.
The workshop is co-presented by the Summit School of Traditional Music and Culture, and the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra.