Eastman hosts Appalachian fiddler
Powell |
he traditional sounds of Appalachian music will fill Kilbourn Hall March 2 at 8 p.m. when Dirk Powell and his band perform as part of the Eastman School's annual World Music Series.
Considered one of the world's leading experts on traditional Appalachian fiddle and banjo styles, Powell is known for melding the traditional with the modern, which has allowed him to work with a wide range of artists, including collaborations with musicians Sting and Jewell. Most recently, Powell worked with Anthony Minghella and T-Bone Burnett on music for the film Cold Mountain.
"Dirk Powell is making living music that grows out of a tradition he loves and respects, carrying this particular strand of young America's cultural DNA into the unknowable future--with hope and joy," says Cold Mountain author Charles Frazier.
Powell's score for the Steve James documentary Stevie, which won first place at the Amsterdam Film Festival and the cinematography prize at Sundance 2003, has received wide acclaim. His banjo playing can be heard in Spike Lee's Bamboozled and Edward Burns's The Brothers McMullen, and his fiddling was featured in Riverdance: The Show, for which he chose and arranged traditional American material.
Powell has also appeared in the BBC/RTE documentary series The Irish Empire as an expert on the culture of the Scots-Irish who immigrated to the Appalachian Mountains in the 1700s. He recently collaborated on a fusion of Appalachian music and Hip Hop with Richmond producer/rapper Danja Mowf for the film From the Holler to the Hood.
Powell began studying classical piano and Baroque harpsichord as a young child. In his early teens, Powell formed a musical bond with his grandfather, James Clarence Hay of Ashland, Kentucky, and developed a connection with the traditional music of Appalachia. His recordings include Time Again, If I Go Ten Thousand Miles, and Hand Me.
Tickets range in price and are available through the RPO Box Office, online, and at the door. Faculty, staff, and students with ID are eligible for a discount. For details, visit www.rochester.edu/Eastman/concerts/tickets.php. To learn more about the World Music Series, visit www.rochester.edu/ Eastman/concerts/series.php.
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