Dunava
Tickets:$12 advance, $16 at the door.
Sorry, this show is completely sold out! No tickets will be released at the door.
Dunava (Bulgarian for “the Danube”) is a Seattle-based women’s vocal ensemble specializing in a cappella folk music of the Balkans. They perform “village” songs that are centuries old as well as contemporary arrangements of traditional folk melodies. Dunava’s goal and mission is to share the beauty and power of Balkan folk songs with authenticity and exceptional quality.Their first CD was released in 2009, and can be previewed on CDBaby.
Dunava was founded in 2005 and has performed at various venues throughout the Seattle area, including Town Hall and the Seattle Folklore Society concert series. The choir has been an audience favorite with the Blue Moon Concert Series in Shoreline for five years, and has packed rooms of all sizes at Northwest Folklife Festival. This year, Dunava will be featured on the Northwest Folklife 2010 CD, Roots and Branches. Dunava has also collaborated with other local groups, such as Balkan Cabaret and Dave and the Dalmatians.
Dunava singers come from diverse musical backgrounds that include classical, American folk, improvisation, and blues. Their repertoire includes songs from the cities and villages of Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Macedonia, Russia, and Serbia. All singers share a passion for the distinct and beautiful harmonies of Eastern Europe, and individual singers have travelled to the Balkan countries on song-learning missions. The group regularly consults with professional singers and native speakers from the Balkans to ensure the performance is culturally authentic.
Dina Trageser, founder and director of Dunava, has been studying and singing music from the Balkans for over 13 years. Her background includes years of studying classical music and performing with renowned choirs such as the Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble and Seattle Pro Musica. She currently is also a member of Orkestar RTW.
Visit Dunava online at www.dunava.org and www.myspace.com/dunava.
MaMuse
Tickets: $14 advance, $18 at the door
Click here to purchase advance tickets.
MaMuse: (Ma as in Mamma; Muse as in the one who inspires) “Beautiful Harmonies woven into a tapestry of strings and stillness.”
The songs of MaMuse are love poems to the Earth. They also speak to the depths of one’s own inner terrain. MaMusic stirs the heart through deep soul felt lyrics and sparse supportive instrumentation. Sarah and Karisha together create original music that breathes. Tight vocal harmonies ring out a Capella or blend with upright bass, mandolin, guitar, flute, light percussion and finger snaps to deliver the gift of joyful truth telling.
The encouragement and support of their hometown Chico, California community (MaMuse has received awards two years in a row from local voting music enthusiasts for Best New Act, Best Folk Act and Best Local Act) has provided the strength for the “rootsy female wonder duo” of MaMuse to make her way out into the world, touring regions across the country as well as establishing a strong presence through the Bay Area and Northern California.
Celebrating her second year of Being and sharing, MaMuse delights in this year’s 2010 Spring and Summer invitations: Chico Bicycle Music Festival, Davis Whole Earth Festival, California World Music Festival, Esalen International Arts Festival, Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival, Mystic Family Garden Party and the American River Music Festival.
Beginning July 31st, MaMuse will set out with the support of friends to promote their second full-length album Strange and Wonderful. The tour will begin in Shasta, CA and meander northward through Oregon and Washington. In Seattle, MaMuse will continue their adventurous Northwest tour by bicycle, ferrying across the Puget Sound and sharing their music through the San Juan Islands. Bicylces support the journey for MaMuse whenever possible, as they have pedaled their bodies and instruments from their homes in Chico to the World Music Festival (Grass Valley, CA), the Whole Earth Festival (Davis, CA) and the Bicycle Music Festival (San Francisco, CA).
The essence of MaMuse is rooted in the transparency of a journey shared by two women who feel a lot and dare to express their experiences through song and story. ”As a community we are all strengthened when even one of us discovers his or her voice and dares to share. We dare you to sing with us. We dare you to discover your own song.” (Karisha)
“Mamuse is what a meadow would sound like if it could sing.”
