BELLOWS FALLS — Stone Church Arts welcomes cellist Eugene Friesen and Celtic harper Maeve Gilchrist in concert on Saturday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m.
The evening includes solos and duets from these innovative player/composers in the warm and beautiful acoustics of The Stone Church. The show is at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St., Bellows Falls.
Gilchrist and Friesen share a love and respect for the traditions of their instruments, and both have been influenced by music from South America, Africa, and beyond. Their music features rhythmic invention, great melodies, virtuosic solos, and Gilchrist's crystalline vocals.
Still in her mid-20s, Edinburgh-born Gilchrist has been credited as an innovator on her native Celtic harp, thanks to her unique chromatic and improvisational approach to the instrument. Based in Boston, she tours internationally as a solo artist and with her trio. She has performed and recorded with such luminaries as Darol Anger, Kathy Mattea, Esperanza Spalding, Tony Trischka, Alasdair Fraser, and Vardan Ovsepian. She is on the faculty of the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Maeve's debut solo harp album, “The Ostinato Project,” was released in 2013. Her Stone Church Arts performance will feature new compositions from the CD, exploring and celebrating the harp with a focus on utilizing both hands as independent voices.
The evening also features new compositions for cello and electric cello by Friesen. His new work features live “looping,” integrating musical elements from Africa, Brazil, jazz, rock and contemporary classical music. A Vermont resident, and Stone Church Arts' musical director, Friesen has inspired a new generation of classically trained players to expand their techniques and imaginations. He has won multiple Grammy Awards as a member of the Paul Winter Consort, has toured worldwide for more than 35 years, and is on the faculty of the Berklee College of Music in Boston.