Ladysmith Black Mambazo
to Open Festival’s
Season Concert Series
October 11, 2008
Port Angeles High School
Performing Arts Auditorium

The Juan de Fuca Festival is excited to announce that the internationally renowned group LadySmith Black Mambazo will open our 2008/09 season on Saturday, October 11, 2008, at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Auditorium.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo represents the traditional culture of South Africa and is regarded as the country’s cultural emissary at home and around the world. They have performed at Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies and for President Mandela’s inauguration in 1994, and are considered a natural treasure of the new South Africa.

It has been over twenty years since Paul Simon made his initial trip to South Africa and met Joseph Shabalala, and the other members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Simon was captivated by the stirring sound of bass, alto, and tenor harmonies and incorporated these traditional sounds into the Graceland album, a project regarded by many as seminal to today’s explosive interest in World Music.

Their first album release for the U.S. was produced by Simon and won the Grammy Award in 1987 for Best Traditional Folk Recording. Since then they have been nominated for a Grammy Award eleven additional times, winning again in 2005. In May, 2007, Paul Simon asked the group to join him on stage when he was awarded the inaugural Gershwin Award in Washington DC.

Their latest CD is a celebration of the group’s history and they are joined by Natalie Merchant, Sarah McLachlan, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Pete Seeger and the Mahotella Queens.

Tickets for this event are now available online at www.NWPerformingArts.com or contact the Festival office, or at Port Book and News in Port Angeles and Pacific Mist Books in Sequim. Prices for the event range from $25-30 depending on membership status and seat location.

www.ladysmithblackmambazo.com

Party with a Purpose!
JFFA's Fall Fundraiser
Celebration & Dance
Saturday, October 25, 2008 - 6:30 p.m.
Elks Naval Lodge

Join the festivities at the Festival’s Fourth Annual Fall Dance & Celebration of the Arts featuring the ever popular Casey MacGill’s Blue 4 Trio. Dancing, food, a silent auction, and specialty wine bar contribute to the festive fundraising evening.

This annual gala fundraising event will be held at the Elks Naval Lodge, 131 East First Street, located in downtown Port Angeles. Proceeds benefit the Festival’s Arts in the Classroom educational programs.

Individual tickets are $50. A table for 8 is $360. Reservations can be made by calling the Festival office.

Battlefield Band
Friday, November 21, 2008
Port Angeles High School Auditorium

Inspired by their rich heritage or Celtic music and fired by the strength and vibrancy of today’s Scottish cultural scene, which indeed they have done much to create and fuel, they have led, and been at the forefront, of a great revival in Scottish music. Refusing to be limited musically, they have mixed the old songs and music with a new self-penned repertoire, all played on a fusion of ancient and modern instruments: bagpipes, fiddle, synthesizer, guitar, flutes, bodhran and accordion.

Battlefield band have been on the world’s roads for just on 30 years, distilling their own unique form of Scottish spirit and bottling it in concert and onto disc in Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Italy, Switzerland, Syria, India, Egypt, and the USA. They have broken down barriers and pioneered many new directions which others have followed.

Their continued creativity, freshness and enthusiasm is what continues to make them so popular. Their music, joyful, raucous, contemplative is always fresh and accessible to all.

Tickets are $20-25 and are available online at www.NWPerformingArts.com, or contact the Festival office.

www.battlefieldband.co.uk

Tyva Kyzy
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Peninsula College Little Theatre

In 1998 some of the most gifted women musicians of Tuva joined under the direction of Choduraa Tumat toa form Tyva Kyzy, the first and only all-female folk ensemble performing tuvan throat-singing. Their distinctive form of singing combines the female voice with the rarely heard beauty of female throat-singing.

Tyva Kyzy utilizes a wide range of folk instruments including their own signature instrument, the chadagan, which resembles a hammered dulcimer. Their vividly textured songs fill audiences with energy and amotion. Their performances bring to life the traditions and sonic landscapes of Tuva with humorous joy, sweetness and thundering power. Tyva Kyzy brings an exciting breath of fresh air to the overtone rich melodies and natural rhythms of today’s Tuvan music.

Since its inception, the group has participated in numerous international festivals of music in Europe, Japan and the United States. Several members perform in the Tuvan National Orchestra. Their repertoire is developed through a blend of innovation and tradition. They perform a wide variety of songs from their elders and of the land. Many of their songs are very old and have rarely been heard outside of Tuva.

Tickets are $20-25 and will be available in the fall. To receive notification of ticket availability please contact the Festival office.

www.tyvakyzy.com