FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KITKA & BALKAN CABARET
In Concert
Press Release
Nostalgic Songs from the Cafés of Bosnia, Croatia, and Beyond
Performances in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Oakland: April 25-27, 2008
“Bliss in a minor key.” — The Oregonian
Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble joins forces with Seattle’s Balkan Cabaret to share the passionate poetry of traditional ballads and beloved standards from the cafés and cabarets of old Eastern Europe. Offerings will span sevdah songs of love and longing from Bosnia and Herzegovina, sweetly harmonized Croatian folk songs, nostalgic starogradski tunes from Bulgaria, and much more. Whether audiences are sitting back and listening or up on their feet dancing, these soulful musicians transport all present to a time and place when feelings, reflection and community were not so overwhelmed by the rush of technology.
Performances will take place in:
- San Francisco, on Friday, April 25 at 8 pm at the Croatian American Cultural Center at 60 Onondaga Ave.
- Santa Cruz, on Saturday, April 26 at 8 pm at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center at 320-2 Cedar St.
- Oakland, on Sunday, April 27 at 8 pm at the First Unitarian Church at 685 14th St.
Balkan Cabaret and Mary Sherhart, president of Sevdah North America, will also present a pre-concert sevdah singing workshop at the concert venue in Oakland from 3-5 PM on April 27.
Twice nominated "Best World Music Band" by the Seattle Weekly, Balkan Cabaret is comprised of vocalist Mary Sherhart, fiddler/clarinetist Joe Finn, accordionist/vocalist, Michael Lawson, bassist/vocalist Rich Thomas, and Steve Ramsey on bugarija and vocals. The band will be joined for these performances by acclaimed Croatian-American vocalist and multi-instrumentalist John Morovich. Balkan Cabaret’s performances are marked with a warmth and flair that has been enthusiastically embraced by ethnic audiences, folk dancers and music lovers across America. Balkan Cabaret has released two CDs: Balkan Cabaret and Somewhere far Away. The band’s lead vocalist, Mary Sherhart, has also recorded and toured with Bosnia’s famed accordionist, composer, and author Omer Pobric. (www.balkancabaret.com)
Kitka began in 1979 as a grassroots group of singers from diverse ethnic and musical backgrounds who shared a passion for the stunning dissonances, asymmetric rhythms, intricate ornamentation, lush harmonies, and resonant strength of Eastern European women’s vocal traditions. Since its beginnings, the group has evolved into a professional touring ensemble that has earned international recognition for its artistry, versatility, and fresh approach to folk music. Kitka has recently been featured in national media including PRI’s The World, NPR’s The Story, New Sounds, and National Geographic’s World Music Profiles. A TV special Kitka and Davka in Concert has aired on more than 80 PBS stations nationwide and has been shown at film festivals from Beijing to Toronto. This year Kitka released Sanctuary: A Cathedral Concert, the ensemble’s eighth independently-produced album on their own Diaphonica label. (www.kitka.org)
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CALENDAR LISTINGS:
Please list under Music: World/Folk/Cabaret
Friday, April 25, 8 PM
Croatian American Cultural Center
60 Onondaga, San Francisco, CA
Advance Tickets: $21 general/$18 seniors and students
Door Tickets: $25 general/$20 seniors and students
Kids under 12 FREE!
Reservations and Information: 510.444.0323 or www.kitka.org
Saturday, April 26, 8 PM
Kuumbwa Jazz Center
320-2 Cedar St, Santa Cruz, CA
Advance Tickets: $21 general/$18 seniors and students
Door Tickets: $25 general/$20 seniors and students
Kids under 12 FREE!
Reservations and Information: 510.444.0323 or www.kitka.org
Sunday, April 27
3-5 PM: Sevdah Singing Workshop with Mary Sherhart and Balkan Cabaret ($20)
8 PM: Concert
First Unitarian Church
685 14th St, Oakland, CA
Advance Tickets: $21 general/$18 seniors and students
Door Tickets: $25 general/$20 seniors and students
Kids under 12 FREE!
Reservations and information: 510.444.0323 or www.kitka.org
Workshop and concert tickets are also available via www.brownpapertickets.com, 24/7 box office hotline: 800.838.3006.
Photo editors: A selection of photographs of Kitka, Balkan Cabaret, Mary Sherhart and John Morovich are downloadable in high-resolution jpeg format from www.kitka.org/press
Entertainment editors: Copies of CDs by Kitka and Balkan Cabaret are available upon request. Call 510.444.0323. Members of Kitka and Balkan Cabaret are also available for pre-concert interviews.
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Click here to listen to Kitka
Click here to listen to Balkan Cabaret
Click here to download high-resolution photos of Kitka
Click here to download high-resolution photos of Balkan Cabaret
The singers of Kitka are:
Zlatka Baneva, Leslie Bonnett, Briget Boyle, Shira Cion, Catherine Rose Crowther, Phoebe Jevtovic, Janet Kutulas, and Natalia Ukrainska.
Kitka Website: http://www.kitka.org
KITKA
Shira Cion
Executive Director
email:
phone: (510) 444-0323
The collaboration between Kitka and Balkan Cabaret is part of a multi-year master artist residency project entitled Song Routes in A New Land, and is supported, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The City of Oakland Cultural Funding Program, The Clorox Arts Mini Grants Program, The James Irvine Foundation New Connections Fund, The Zellerbach Family Fund, and the Alliance for California Traditional Arts.
