George Winston highlights Fermilab Arts Series 2002 Summer Season

Pianist George Winston, one of the most influential recording artists of the past twenty years, caps off the Summer 2002 Season of the Fermilab Arts Series in Wilson Hall’s Ramsey Auditorium with an August 10th performance. Rounding out the summer season are Cherish the Ladies, one of America’s most noted Irish bands, and Los Folkloristas, a group known as one of Mexico’s national treasures. All events begin at 8 p.m. on Saturday evenings in Ramsey Auditorium. Tickets for all Fermilab events are available now. For further information or telephone reservations, call 630/840-ARTS weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Check the Web site at www.fnal.gov/culture.

JUNE 15
CHERISH THE LADIES
Tickets - $21 ($11 for ages 18 and under)
“Cherish the Ladies from the USA made their connection from the first note, skillfully managing the cheers and tears for every second of a torrential two-hour set. The band brilliantly strutted the very Irish-American sound which simultaneously exudes a tremendous joie de vivre and deep nostalgia.”
—The Irish Times (Dublin)

For more than 15 years, Cherish the Ladies has been making Irish music and dance along with world-wide goodwill. In 1983, Mick Moloney noticed that the Irish tradition of passing music down from father to son was now including many daughters as well. He approached Joanie Madden with the idea of a series of all-women concerts, and Cherish the Ladies was born. Their first album, “The Back Door” (1985), was chosen as the Best Folk Album of the Year by the Library of Congress and received a National Endowment for the Arts grant for touring. Since that time they’ve shared the stage with Emmylou Harris, James Taylor, Joan Baez, Kathy Mattea, the Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem, and the Boston Pops, in a performance that earned them a Grammy nomination. In 1992 they were chosen to perform in an all-star musical tribute to Bob Dylan.

Cherish the Ladies is led by Joanie Madden, whose flute and whistle playing have earned her numerous awards, including the 1997 Traditional Musician of the Year. She has made appearances on over a hundred albums with artists ranging from Pete Seeger to Sinead O’Connor, including three Grammy Awardwinning recordings. Completing the band are Mary Rafferty, accordion; Mary Coogan, mandolin, banjo and guitar, on which she was featured as one of the top four guitarists in Celtic music by Acoustic Guitar Magazine; Deirdre Connolly, vocals; Donna Long, fiddle; and noted fiddler Liz Knowles, from Riverdance.

JULY 13
LOS FOLKLORISTAS
Tickets - $19 ($10 for ages 18 and under)
“The only predictable thing about one of their performances is that something peculiarly true and beautiful will surface during the evening.”
—Christian Science Monitor

Embarking on their 35th anniversary season, the musicians of Los Folkloristas continue their mission set in 1966, “to preserve and record the traditional music of Mexico and Latin America.” Carrying more than 100 instruments in their collection, and performing music of up to 15 different countries and pre-Columbian Mexico, this seven-member ensemble presents a musical journey through Latin America. In addition to traditional instruments, Los Folkloristas brings an abundance of organic instruments such as turtle shells, dried cocoons, and gourds. Background explanations are provided, offering descriptions of the universal themes of love, respect, and understanding found in this music, regardless of the country or time in which it was written. As ambassadors of traditional Latin folk music, Los Folkloristas’ successes include the release of more than 30 albums world-wide, acclaim from the National Association of Independent Record Distributors, and contributions to music scores for the awardwinning film El Norte and the recent release My Family. So representative is their music of the Mexican heritage that The Excelsior of Mexico City referred to them as “without a doubt, the most important group in Mexico today.”

AUGUST 10
GEORGE WINSTON
Tickets - $23 ($12 for ages 18 and under)
“Winston is the undisputed master of contemporary solo piano, and his lyrical style is often imitated but never duplicated.”
—Dirty Linen

Celebrated pianist/composer and Windham Hill flagship artist George Winston closes out the summer series at Fermilab. In 1998, Winston celebrated his 25th anniversary as a recording artist. His first album, “Ballads and Blues,” was released in 1972 and later picked up by Windham Hill Records. Among his most memorable albums include “Autumn,” “December,” “Winter Into Spring,” and “Summer.” “Autumn,” which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, almost single-handedly launched Winston, Windham Hill Records, and the genre of contemporary adult instrumental music.

Inspired by blues, rock, R&B, and jazz, Winston began playing organ and electric piano in 1967. He switched to acoustic piano in 1971 after hearing recordings by some of the legendary swing pianists, specifically Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson. His current work is about two-thirds R&B/rock/standards, and about onethird melodic music. His latest recording, “The Night Divides the Day –The Music of the Doors,” is tentatively scheduled for release this year.

In addition to his seven solo piano albums, Winston has recorded solo piano and guitar soundtracks for four children’s animated videos, including “The Velveteen Rabbit” (narrated by Meryl Streep), “This Is America, Charlie Brown - The Birth of the Constitution,” “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” (narrated by Liv Ullman), and “Pumpkin Circle” (narrated by Danny Glover). He was also the focus of a feature length video produced by PBS, “George Winston—Seasons in Concert.”