OneWorldWalk

APRIL 2008

Listen For Life
Presents
Cradle Songs from the Old World

Friday, April 25, 2008
8 pm
Cost: $20 (Seats are limited)
OneWorldWalk Center
1942 University Ave., Suite 105
Berkeley, CA
Please click on the Contact Us page for a map and directions to the venue.

Program Notes

Diana Rowan (harp) and Lily Storm (voice & harmonium) present rare lullabies from around the world (Malta, Lithuania, Isle of Man, to name a few) arranged in artful and surprising ways. Lily's studies with the greatest living masters of Balkan, Eastern European and Middle Eastern music, coupled with extensive fieldwork, combine with Diana's background in Western classical, Balkan, and Sephardic music to create a multi-layered, magical experience. Lullabies are a fascinating vehicle for the musician; being so compact, they allow great scope of interpretation while also containing a tremendous amount of musical and historical DNA.

Lullabies and dirges often share melodic and even textual content, and are regarded as the most conservative genres within a tradition, preserving scales, styles and images long after other genres have adopted newer fashions. Lily and Diana have enjoyed the challenge of finding and arranging these lullabies in ways that bring out the distinct character of each one, while preserving their archaic simplicity. The words, sometimes poetic, sometimes mundane and prosaic, never fail to give a picture of the undying love between generations, as well as the frustrations of a sleep-deprived parent!

We hope they prove relevant to people of all ages, by offering soothing comfort to any in need.


Artist Biographies

Harpist Diana Rowan's playing has been described as having "unusual power and beauty." Born in Ireland, she lived on the East Coast, in Europe and the Middle East before settling in Berkeley, California. Diana's classical training (MM Piano Performance, under Tchaikovsky Piano Competition prize-winner Roy Bogas, intensive ongoing studies with Alice Giles, 1st prize-winner of the Israel International Harp Contest) intersects with her love for Balkan, Eastern European, Sephardic and Middle Eastern music to create compelling solo and ensemble performances. Currently collaborating with her mentor and Kitka founder Bon Singer's vocal ensemble Ya Elah, vocal virtuosa Lily Storm, Hindustani bansuri master Deepak Ram, and rising early music stars San Francisco Renaissance Voices, Diana can also be heard on several CDs including her debut solo album Panta Rhei. Diana's second album, The Bright Knowledge, will be released 2008. This fall she will be performing at the Bay Area's beloved Festival of Harps, as well as the Australian Harp Festival.

Diana's websites are at www.sirenharp.com and www.pantarheicd.com.

Lily Storm is a singer specializing in traditional music, with particular experience in Eastern European styles. She has studied with many traditional singers, and has traveled extensively, living for some months in Hungary and Greece and visiting Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia and India. She also makes use of archival recordings to study ancient styles preserved into the early 20th century. Lily performs with several ensembles in the Bay Area, working with musicians including Ryan Francesconi, Dan Cantrell, Aya Davidson, Beth Bahia Cohen, Eric Perney, Peter Maund, Shea Comfort, Leslie Bonnett, Dan Ziagos, Bill Lanphier, Bryan Bowman, and Lucia Comnes. She also performs early music with Shira Kammen, Tim Rayborn, and Kit Higginson; Scandinavian folk music with the Swedish duo DrŒm, and she has collaborated with Kane Mathis, an accomplished kora and oud player. Highlights of the last year include singing with the Toids to open for Joanna Newsom, and performing in Greece with Lucia Comnes at the Voices of Stone Festival, sharing the stage with Petro-Loukas Halkias and Domna Samiou, among others. Previously she sang with the Bay Area vocal ensemble Kitka for 5 years. As part of Kitka, she recorded as a soloist (The Vine, Wintersongs), collaborated in concert with ensembles including Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Ziyia, Ensemble Alcatraz, Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir, Davka, and Mariana Sadovska, and appeared on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion and NPR's Performance Today.

Lily's websites are at www.songbat.com and www.myspace.com/songbat.