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Starry Mountain Singers set to perform

ELKINS — The Starry Mountain Singers, an eight-member vocal ensemble, will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 9 in the Great Hall of Halliehurst at Davis & Elkins College. The group presents a wide range of traditional music from around the United States and abroad.

The concert is open to the community and donations will be accepted the door in lieu of tickets. For additional information, call 304-637-1209.

The group’s members, all lifelong musicians who share a deep love of traditional vocal styles and a dedication to studying and performing them, are Stefan Amidon, Zara Bode, Avery Book, Gideon Crevoshay, Jeff Fellinger, Emily Miller, Nathan Morrison and Suzannah Park.

“This is the Starry Mountain Singers’ fourth concert in Elkins, and they are always a favorite for the community,” said Beth King, director of the Augusta Heritage Center. “Each of the singers is incredibly talented and their dedication to the traditional vocal styles makes each performance amazing. Both Emily Miller and Suzannah Park were Augusta students as young children and then returned as Vocal Week teachers.”

All members of the Starry Mountain Singers have toured extensively with the Vermont-based world-music ensembles Northern Harmony and Village Harmony, where they received an introduction to traditional songs and singing styles from around the world. In addition, members of the ensemble have worked with Meredith Monk and the Revels International, have performed on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and Mountain Stage, and include three members of the Brooklyn-based country band, The Sweetback Sisters.

Amidon grew up singing in his family band, The Amidons, and with Village and Northern Harmony. Since graduating from the Oberlin Conservatory with a degree in jazz performance, he has enjoyed playing drums in jazz bands big and small, with his older brother, avant/folk artist Sam Amidon, and as the percussionist and at times harmony vocalist with The Sweetback Sisters. He is also the percussionist of choice for several of America’s favorite contra dance bands and has performed and taught at music and dance festivals across the country.

Bode has a wealth of knowledge in a variety of musical styles including jazz, gospel and world music, and has played the lead in many musicals. As a lead singer in acclaimed country/honky tonk group, The Sweetback Sisters, Bode brings folks to their feet at music festivals and performance venues around the world.

Book has been singing for most of his life and has led ensembles. His focus these days is traditional Georgian music and he has visited Caucasus Georgia four times recently to study with Georgian songmasters. He is a co-founder and co-coordinator of the Svan Recording Project, which will eventually publish a set of educational recordings and transcriptions of traditional Georgian music from the province of Svaneti.

Crevoshay grew up singing shape-note music with Bread and Puppet Theater and Village Harmony, and later at Oberlin College spent several years singing early music with Collegium Musicum. Since moving to the New York City area, he has been able to expand his musical experiences into more experimental realms and has been writing and performing with several groups, including the Briars of North America and the Meredith Monk Ensemble, and works with One Beat, a world-music fellowship program run through the U.S. State Department.

Fellinger has long found himself in a rich community of singing with endeavors in musicals, choirs, a cappella groups, long-time membership in the Burlington ensemble Social Band, shape-note singing, touring with Northern Harmony, cowboy crooning in the trio Soaked Oats and a half dozen years of teaching at Ooolation, a singing camp for teenagers.

Miller is rapidly becoming known around the United States and Europe as a country singer, fiddler and workshop leader. Raised in a family of old-time musicians, she received an early education in traditional American musical styles and also inherited a love of good old country music. She has performed on festival and concert stages around the world with her country band The Sweetback Sisters as well as Northern Harmony. When not on the road, she leads a string band program for students at Davis & Elkins College.

Morrison joined Village Harmony in high school. At Hampshire College he explored jazz as a religious experience, composing and playing in a small combo. He also continued to tour with Northern Harmony, visiting Germany and England. Currently, he lives in Asheville, N.C., with his wife and singing partner, Suzannah Park, where he started his own bread business.

Park comes from a family of three generations of ballad singers and storytellers and has been performing Appalachian folk music for most of her life. Her interest in traditional music of many kinds has taken her from music-filled kitchens to concert halls across the U.S. and Europe. She began touring with Village Harmony as a teen and has taught for them since 2000. She is known for her powerful voice and striking harmonies and her ability to inspire others with her love of music.

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