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The Hamilton College Performing Arts continues its Classical Connections Series with the period instrument group Hesperus in a program titled American Roots: Popular Music from 18th-Century America on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 8 p.m. in Wellin Hall on the Hamilton College campus.  

The Hamilton College program is designed to give a cross-section of the music heard in North America from the arrival of the Pilgrims in the early part of the 17th century, through the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The political journey from colonialism to independence was mirrored by an artistic journey that ranged from dependence upon European models such as the division on a ground, country dance and part-song, to the development of new American models such as the cotillion and shape note hymn. 

When America was a colony of Britain, much of the music heard in the new land was from the favorite tune books of turn-of-the 17th century Britain—publications by John Playford, Thomas Ravenscroft and Thomas D'Urfey. Scots-Irish and Northumbrian music was also popular. The program will feature examples from Dixon's small pipes collection Nine Notes that Shook the World, and a Scottish air, Through the Woods Laddie.

As the 17th century progressed, many of the settlers forgot how to read music, putting all their energies to surviving the winters that were so much colder than those in England. In the first decades of the 18th century, a move was made to teach Americans how to read music again. A network of traveling singing masters went from town to town, setting up month-long singing schools, and writing their own hymns to teach at those schools. As the movement caught on, often notes were taught in a system of 'shape notes' as an aid to learning to read music. For example, the hymns of William Billings were later transcribed into shapes for easier teaching.  The new shape-note or sacred harp hymns were more dissonant and stark than the older English psalms, reflecting the new directness and vitality of the emerging nation.

Hesperus has performed throughout the United States, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe, most recently at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Lincoln Center, the Carmel Bach Festival and the Cloisters, as well as at festivals in Italy, Germany, Indonesia and Bolivia. The group has 13 recordings on the Koch International, Dorian, and Maggie's Music labels. The ensemble's awards include the Elizabeth Campbell Award from the Arlington Chapter of the American Association of University Women, the Logan Prize for Excellence in Educational Programming, the STAR Award from the Arlington Commission for the Arts, the Music and Humanity Award from Music at Gretna, four Wammies, and the Baltimore Chamber Music Award.
The members of Hesperus are: Rosa Lamoreaux, Tina Chancey, Grant Herreid, and Scott Reiss. Rosa Lamoreaux, lyric soprano, has been hailed for her versatile musicianship and her radiant, engaging, and effortless singing.  The Washington Post has described her singing as "one of Washington's greatest natural resources."  She has been critically acclaimed for her performances at the Bach festivals of Bethlehem, Pa., Carmel, Calif., and in Leipzig, Berlin and Halle, Germany.  She has performed recitals in Italy, Austria, Denmark, England and Brazil and the United States.

Tina Chancey, a founding member and co-director of Hesperus, is also a former member of the Folger Consort, the Ensemble for Early Music and the New York Renaissance Band. A multi-instrumentalist specializing in early bowed strings from the rebec and vielle to the kamenj, viol and lyra, she has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts to support solo performances on the pardessus de viole at the Kennedy Center and Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Grant Herreid is a versatile musician/director. As a multi-instrumentalist and singer he performs frequently on winds, strings and voice with Hesperus and Piffaro: The Renaissance Band, and he plays the orbo and lute with the baroque ensemble ARTEK and New York's City Opera.  He also teaches at Mannes College of Music in New York and directs the New York Continuo Collective.

Scott Reiss, founder and artistic director of Hesperus, is recognized as one of the world's leading recorder players in medieval, Renaissance, and baroque styles. In addition he has the distinction of possessing a command of Irish and Appalachian music, and the blues, and has developed techniques for playing the recorder in those styles. In addition to the recorder, Mr. Reiss is known for his work on the hammered dulcimer, Irish pennywhistle, and Arabic hand drums.

Tickets for this concert are $15 adult, $10 seniors, and $5 students. All seats are general admission. For more information, please contact the box office at 859-4331. Box office hours are weekdays, 1-4 p.m.

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