"I really wanted to attend an institution that was somewhat of a community -- something small -- and to connect with professors and with the administration and have them know my name. And, because of MCLA's internship program, I was able to get my foot in the door at a very prominent company which jump-started my career."
Christina Barrett '03 Director of Marketing & Communications, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce
News & Press Releases
Nov. 20, 2008
NORTH ADAMS, MA. – In celebration of the holiday season, “Songs of the Spirit,” a multicultural, interfaith concert will performed on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 pm. in the Church Street Center as the next MCLA Presents! event at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
An annual event at MCLA since 2005, this year’s program will reunite four of artists from the 2007 New York tour: Tracy Grammer, Halle, Frank London and Lorin Sklamberg of The Klezmatics.
An eclectic fusion of genres, styles and traditions, “Songs of the Spirit” celebrates the common spiritual ideals of diverse faiths and cultures through music and spoken word. The Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin asked, “... Has there ever been a more diverse – and talented – bunch of musicians under the roof of Binghamton’s Forum Theatre at the same time?” In Troy, the Times Union wrote, “It certainly worked at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall on Saturday night.”
Joining this reunion of artists will be MCLA’s own Marie McMarrow ’09. “The evening promises to deliver yet another inspiring, uplifting evening of musical virtuosity and multicultural spirituality to the MCLA campus,” said Jonathan Secor, MCLA director of special programs.
Joan Baez has described Grammer as a “brilliant artist” with a “mastery over the instruments she plays, and as “one of the finest pure musicians anywhere in folkdom.”
Grammer’s much anticipated solo debut, “Flower of Avalon,” was the most played album on folk radio across the United States the year of its release.
Haale is a Bronx-born woman of Iranian descent whose name means “the halo around the moon.” Her songs draw on both Persian mystical and American psychedelic musical traditions. On her 2008 album, “No Ceiling,” Haale explores themes of transformation and evolution, singing in English and Persian through a soundscape of percussion, psychedelic guitars and strings.
Time Out New York described London and Sklamberg’s music as “deeply compassionate” and “as invigorating and accessible as it is virtuosic.”
“The Klezmatics take a tradition steeped in Jewish spiritualism and Eastern European tradition and incorporated provocative themes such as social rights and anti-fundamentalism with eclectic musical influences such as gospel, punk, and Arab, African, and Balkan rhythms,” Secor explained.
In-between musical sets, there will be readings by local clerics and spiritual leaders from the many different faith-based texts.
Tickets for general admission are $12, $5 for MCLA faculty and staff and members and MCLA students are free. To reserve tickets, call (413) 662-5204 for more information, go to www.mcla.edu/presents .
