WASHINGTON SQUARE MUSIC FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 50TH SEASON

WASHINGTON SQUARE MUSIC FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 50TH SEASON --OPENING FREE CONCERT IS A HOOTENANNY JUNE 21

On Saturday, June 21 at 5 pm, a joyous Hootenanny, a free folk-concert in conjunction with Make Music New York, will open the Washington Square Music Festival’s 50th anniversary season in the park. Three exuberant groups, chosen from the MMNY interactive Web site, will sing Dylan tunes, Irish folk songs and music from the North Mississippi Hill Country, as well as some original material.

Concerts take place in the southeast quadrant of Washington Square, near the statue of Garibaldi. Seating is first-come, first-served. Rainspace is Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South. Public information number is: 212-252-3621, http://www.washingtonsquaremusicfestival.org/.

The line-up is: Michael Packer Blues Band -- Michael Packer, guitar and vocals, performed in the 60s & 70s at such famous Greenwich Village venues as Gerdes Folk City, The Gaslight and The Bitter End. He returns to the Square with great pleasure, bringing with him Ed Jackson, bongos; Riley Fitzsimmons, bass and guitar; and Dave “Snakeman” Runyan, harmonica. Ed, Riley, and Dave also will vocalize in such songs as “All Along The Watchtower “and Packer's “Bleecker Street.”

Three Pints Shy is a raucous pub band, updating and reinvigorating the Celtic music that has become one of the roots of American folk songs. On guitars,
pennywhistle, and dodhran (Irish drum) the five singer/actors will perform works ranging from the early 19th century sea shanty, “Dublin O’Shea” to “I’m a Free Born Man of the Traveling People” made popular by the Clancy Brothers.

Pork Chop Willie performs traditional material from North Mississippi Hill Country. The music comes from the rhythmic fife and drum style dating back to the Revolution. Some call it trance blues. Often only one chord is used, and Junior Kimbrough, one of the granddaddies of this genre, once said that “If I find another chord, I save it for another song”. Performing in the Square will be Bill Hammer, guitar & vocals, fiddler Melissa Tong, and two Mississippi musicians who are making the trip north just for this concert: Eric Deaton on bass and Junior Kimbrough’s son, Kinney Kimbrough, on drums.

The Washington Square Music Festival was founded in 1953 by violinist Alexander Schneider and the Washington Square Association. It is the second oldest free outdoor summer classical music series in New York. The diverse and adventurous programs feature examples from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, contemporary works for chamber orchestra, classic jazz, folk and salsa. Lutz Rath is Music Director; Peggy Friedman is Executive Director; Jean Lyman Goetz is Festival Manager; and Suzette Jacobs is Associate Music Director.

Season Schedule, Tuesdays 8 pm Rainspace: New York University’s
Frederick Loewe Theatre, 35 West 4th Street

July 8: Festival Ensemble, Gerald Ranck, harpsichord soloist performing Vivaldi, Tigran Mansurian, Zelenka, de Falla, Bach

July 15: Festival Ensemble, Lutz Rath, cello soloist, Stephanie Houtzeel, mezzo-soprano performing Massenet, Wagenseil and other composers.
July 22: Festival Ensemble, David Oei, piano soloist, performing Dohnányi, Satie, Lou Harrison: Double Concerto for violin, cello and gamelan orchestra with Gamelan Son of Lion

July 29: Charles Mingus Orchestra performing Music by the Master
Original jazz compositions by the late, great, Charles Mingus

The Washington Square Music Festival is made possible with major funding from the The Earle K. & Katherine Moore Foundation, and with public funds from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation through the good offices of Senator Thomas K. Duane and Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick; and The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and City Councilmember Alan J. Gerson; the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. US Recording Companies fund in part the instrumental music for the series, as arranged by Local 802, American Federation of Musicians. Generous grants from the Washington Square Park Council, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Washington Square Association, New York University Community Fund, Margaret Neubart Foundation Trust, Carmine Street Block Association, Con Edison, BAMRA, and the Washington Square Hotel, are deeply appreciated.