APRIL 28TH MUSIC ON THE PORCH WITH SHANA TUCKER, GABRIEL PELLI, AND JANE FRANCIS
Moderated by Andrew Magill
5 – 7 p.m. | The Center for the Study of the American South’s Porch and Lawn
Free and Open to the Public
Music on the Porch is a music series held four or five times a year at the Center for the Study of the American South. The series brings talented, knowledgeable, and eclectic musicians from around the region together to play and engage in discussion about sense of place, the creative process, and how the rich culture of the South influences music and musicians, with specific attention given to the thriving North Carolina music community.They take place at the Center’s offices, the Love House and Hutchins Forum, located at 410 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill. There is limited seating on the porch, but lots of lawn. Bring a blanket and picnic and enjoy an early evening of wonderful music.
Shana Tucker studied at Howard University and the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music with Marion Feldman. Her commissioned works include Nexxus and Savannah, both of which were composed for The Washington Ballet (with Maritri Garrett, co-writer) and premiered at The Kennedy Center (Washington, DC). Savannah was also chosen to debut at the Joyce Theatre-NYC and also at the Witts Theater in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Classically trained, Gabriel Pelli is fiddle player of all genres, with Stuff Smith and Stefane Grapelli being most inspirational. He played for years in his own Gypsy Jazz group, Europa Jazz, and more recently plays with the newly regrouped Squirrel Nut Zippers. When not playing jazz, he rocks the violin with The Old Ceremony.
Jane Francis is a songwriter, music teacher and multi-instrumentalist. She continually experiments with the timeless blending of British folk-rock and blues, and offsets traditional forms with quirky pop balladry and refined lyrics. She is a recent member of the Chapel Hill Philharmonia and Cary’s RTOOT Orchestra on the upright bass; an instrument she plans to feature in her upcoming CD.
Moderator Andrew Magill is a graduate of UNC-CH and an instructor in Irish fiddle at the Swannanoa Gathering folk arts camps at Warren Wilson College. In 2009 he received a Fulbright-mtvU fellowship to Malawi to undertake “Stories of Aids Through Music” (fulbright.mtvu.com), a fundraiser concept album with social activist and popular Malawian recording artist Peter Mawanga (www.mawanga.com).