Partnerships are roots that nourish a flowering society. Alone we can do but in a partnership we do double, triple or more.
Simple Gifts is a partnership of 2 women, a dozen stringed instruments made to pluck, strum, hammer or bow, a bellows and some recorders that take a simple breath and pull it into a vibrant rainbow of sound. Simple Gifts, Karen Hirshon and Linda Littleton, gave their music to enthusiastic reception at the David A. Howe Library with funding from one of its partners, the Allegany Arts Association.
One element of the concert was the open sharing of information about the instruments and the music which included tunes from Irish, American, Klezmer, Gypsy, Balkan and Indian roots. There was even a lesson in how to play the smallest and most easily acquired instrument – the soup spoons.
Hirshon and Littleton have been partners in music for 13 years. They said that when people get along and make good music, it’s hard to quit. They form an “alternate universe” and it feels, and sounds, like home.
After the program, Aydrianna Weimer said, “The concert was great. I especially liked that they knew different tunes and styles and they smiled a lot.”
Aydrianna, a 4th grader in Wellsville who plays recorder and intends to play flute soon, claimed the Shruti box as her favorite instrument. The Shruti is an Indian instrument that consists of reeds powered by a foot operated bellows. Hirshon said that the instrument is designed to be used during meditation but that it sounds great when it accompanies a flute and that’s how she first heard it.
Simple Gifts was the first program in Appalachia Rediscovered – a 2 month project funded in part by another Library partner, the Allegany County Area Foundation. Programs include academic lectures, concerts, films, classes, art exhibits and other events to address social, political, economical, environmental and cultural issues that have formed and continue to transform this thirteen-state region.
The full list of programs is at www. DavidaHoweLibrary.org (click on Appalachia Rediscovered on the left.) but here’s a partial list -
Allegany River Indian Dancers, Thurs, Oct 28, 7pm
Family Concert with Dave Ruch: Songs, Strings Spoons and More Fun with Appalachian Music
Sat, Sept 25, 10:30am
Creek Bend Band, Bluegrass, Thurs Nov 4, 7pm
Still Singing: The John C. Campbell Folk School, Betsy And Charley Orlando, Tues, Sept 28, 7pm
Leonard M. Adkins, Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail, Thurs, Oct 21, 1:30pm
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