BELLOWS FALLS — Stone Church Arts launches its 12th season with two concerts at the stone church on the hill, 20 Church St, featuring world flute master Gary Stroutsos.
On Friday, Sept. 23, Stroutsos performs “Enduring Honor: The Legacy of the Native American Flute.” Then, on Saturday, Sept. 24, he is joined by guitarist and vocalist Tony Garone for a concert that re-imagines the acoustic music of Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull.
According to a news release, Stroutsos performs world flute music drawn from traditional cultures: “Evoking a spirit of place, and the voices of the land, his work includes internationally acclaimed recordings at sacred sites.”
His music was showcased in the Ken Burns PBS documentary “Lewis and Clark: Journey of the Corps of Discovery,” which led to a command performance at the White House for President Bill Clinton. Songs and stories from this experience will be part of his performance.
Stroutsos is acknowledged to have made a distinctive contribution to the preservation of American Indian music and culture, the release says, and plays with some of the finest American Indian artists working today, including collaborating with Navajo flute maker Paul Thompson.
In “Forest Dance, Reimaging the Acoustic Music of Jethro Tull,” Stroutsos and Garone will dive into the music and lyrics that Anderson and Jethro Tull created during their most prolific early years.
“Ian Anderson himself stated how he wants to hear his music done in a new musical context,” Stroutsos says. “Well, here it is, Mr. Anderson!”