Yellow
Barn
Concerts
2023

Our season opens with Afro-Cuban and Brazilian jazz/world music! Then, on to the irrepressible joy of the American roots triple-fiddle sound. Renaissance band Cantiga will provide a celebration of music from the inclusive court of the legendary 13th Century Spanish "King of the Three Religions", a haven for Christian, Muslim, and Jewish musicians. The sublime music of Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach will fill the barn with music by Duo Amici including a Bach cello suite. Celebrations of our American singing and songwriting traditions continue with Barb Heller's Sing-&-Play Along Jam, 'A Gathering of Voices' led by Penny Jo Pullus, and the greatly-loved bluegrass of The Atkinson Family Band.. The beautiful rhythms of Latin America return with Caramelo Trio. Acclaimed Celtic harper Maeve Gilchrist will close the season with a concert that evokes our area's Celtic heritage.
Listeners are invited to ask questions of the performers and see their instruments at close hand.
ALL TICKETS: $10 with the exception of Barb Heller's Sing & Play Along Jam and A Gathering of Voices--to benefit the Hammond Area Food Bank..
All children 12 and under listen for free. All high school students attending as a school assignment listen for free. No one is to be turned away.
Yellow Barn Concerts 2023

1. FIDDLERS THREE return to RAISE THE RAFTERS at the Yellow Barn!
Kathy Sommer, Ellen Carlson and Melissa Bragdon Caron
SUNDAY, JUNE 11, 2023 AT 5 PM
Introducing “Fiddlers Three” with fiddling gals Kathy Sommer, Ellen Carlson and Melissa Bragdon Caron. Hear the triple-fiddle sound traveling through fiddle tunes, country and blues with a fabulous band of players. These seasoned performers will be joined by Syracuse guitarist Harvey Nusbaum and Clayton bassist Andrew Willis. The concert will certainly “WOW” the audience with energetic and well-honed fiddle harmonies. This performance is not just for fiddlers though. These gals are inspired by the horns of Chuck Berry, the swing of Bob Wills, sultry violin, country twang, the energy of a contradance, and the hard driving sound of bluegrass.
You can learn more about them at www.kathysommerviolin.com and www.ellencarlson@com.
Video link: https://youtu.be/p22QMZIkHa8
All concerts are $10 at the door. All children 12 and under listen for free. All high school students attending as a school assignment listen for free. No one is to be turned away

2. WORLD ON A STRING: Afro-Cuban and Brazilian jazz/world music!
Paul Meyers, guitar; Vanderlei Pereira, percussion; Michael O'Brien, bass guitar
SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2023 AT 5 PM
Jazz guitar virtuoso Paul Meyers, who lived and worked professionally for over 40 years in and around NY City, now living in Hannawa Falls, will be joined by his NYC compatriots to bring the unique sounds of Brazilian jazz and more to the yellow barn for an opening concert that promises to be the essence of cool and the first of its kind in our area!
For more than 10 years Paul has led World on a String, which features the wonderful drummer Vanderlei Pereira, originally from Rio de Janeiro, who brings in a vast knowledge of Brazilian and Afro-Cuban rhythms. On bass is another fantastic musician, Leo Traversa, a veteran player of these styles as well as much African music, and another very melodic soloist as well.
Paul says "The repertoire is of my original compositions and arrangements, using a core of great players/improvisers to perform music that fuses the jazz tradition with Brazilian & Latin and beyond. It’s my own version of world music, but all with a swinging, grooving foundation.
All concerts are $10 at the door. All children 12 and under listen for free. All high school students attending as a school assignment listen for free. No one is to be turned away.

3. CANTIGA!
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2023 AT 5 PM
Cantiga's unique, magical music has delighted visitors to Renaissance Festivals across North America for close to thirty years. In the summer of 2023, Cantiga is returning to Hammond! Listeners will be delighted by the freedom, virtuosity, life and love that Cantiga infuses into its ancient melodies and rhythms.
The word CANTIGA means 'song' in the language of Alfonso the Wise, the legendary 13th Century Spanish "King of the Three Religions" whose royal court was a haven for Christian, Muslim, and Jewish musicians. Following in their tradition, the members of Cantiga are dedicated to the inclusive spirit of musical improvisation that has flourished among musicians in cultural crossroads throughout history and continues to be celebrated in today's diverse Global musical village.
Alexander Korolov, on lute, recorders and viola da gamba; Martha Gay, harp; Thomas Nuendel, violin; Dan Grip, Bass
All concerts are $10 at the door. All children 12 and under listen for free. All high school students attending as a school assignment listen for free. No one is to be turned away.

4. AN AFTERNOON OF BACH IN THE BARN with DUO AMICI,
Pej Reitz, Piano, and Hakan Tayga, Cello
SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2023 AT 3 PM
The sublime music of Johann Sebastian Bach and other Baroque masters returns to the Gallery and this year will include a Bach cello suite!
Pianist Pej Reitz has accompanied throughout the United States, in England, South America, Spain and at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. She was a winner of the Artistic Ambassadors Program by the United States Information Agency in partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Hakan Tayga is currently Principal Cellist of the Binghamton Philharmonic.
His orchestral experience includes: Tri-Cities Opera, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Catskill Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, and Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes.
An avid chamber music collaborator and guest artist, Hakan has had the great opportunity to work with artists locally and in the Central NY region and in NYC including- Ensemble Concord at the Kilmer Mansion, Pej Reitz, novo4tet, DeVere String Quartet, Cypress Willow Quartet, Bach Works NYC, Contemporary Music at Cornell, SUNY Binghamton Faculty
Chamber concerts, and the 92nd Street Y Chamber Music Program.
All concerts are $10 at the door. Children 12 and under listen for free. All high school students attending for extra credit assignments listen for free

5. A GATHERING OF VOICES, a heartfelt celebration to honor the memory of artist Will Salisbury
SUNDAY, JULY 30, 2023 AT 5 PM
Celebrated songwriters Mike Younger, Linda McRae, Kay Miracle, Penny Jo Pullus, join together bringing a range of creative diversity that spans genres, reflects the solidarity and creative coalition-building happening in the grassroots of our times. They are are bringing their Grindstone Island concert to the yellow barn to celebrate social commentary artist Will Salisbury, our friend and ally in the creative arts world.
Will Salisbury was known for his support of local food banks. Proceeds from this concert will be entirely dedicated to the Hammond Area Food Bank. Please plan to donate dry goods or cash donations of $10 or more to address the issue of hunger in our area.

6. SING-ALONG, PLAY-ALONG JAM WITH BARB HELLER!
SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 2023 AT 5 PM
A North Country treasure recognized for her afternoon radio show String Fever and loved for the musical concerts and sing-alongs that she has hosted over the years in town halls, local opera houses, old barns and around campfires where people gather together and raise their voices in song, Barb's community folk jams celebrate the songs of our shared musical heritage and offer it up as a gift to the next generation.
Grab your guitar, ukulele, kazoo, drums (or whatever!)--or just come along to sing or listen. Join Barb Heller and friends old and new in a celebration of shared music for a summer evening -- folk songs, camp songs, your songs....
All proceeds from this concert will be donated to the Hammond Area Food Bank. Please plan to bring dry goods or cash donations in the amount of $10 or more to address the issue of hunger in our area. Thank you, in advance, for your kind offerings.

7. THE ATKINSON FAMILY BAND IN CONCERT. BEST.BLUEGRASS.EVER!!!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2023 AT 7 PM
A genuine musical family born and brought up in the North Country, rooted in country and bluegrass musical traditions, the Atkinsons have expanded the repertoire with their original compositions. As the Atkinson Family Band’s music moves the heart, their skill inspires admiration and their banter invites their listeners to be part of their larger musical family.
A listener to the music of the Atkinson Family Band comes to appreciate the heart of their genre — music as history, music as storytelling, music that resonates with simpler times and universal experiences that unite us a human family.
All tickets $10 at the door. Children 12 and under listen for free. All upper grade students coming for extra credit assignments listen for free.

8. CARAMELO TRIO PRESENTS... A SOUND TAPESTRY SOUTH OF THE BORDER
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023 AT 5 PM
Caramelo Trio -- Oscar Sarmiento, Guitar and Vocals; Beth Robinson, Cello; Mark Seymour, Percussion (cajon and bongos) -- creates an exciting blend of lyrical melody and rhythmic motion inspired by the rich traditions of Latin American musical styles such as tango, Bossa nova, waltzes, and more. As Professor of Latin American literature at SUNY Potsdam, Dr. Sarmiento is now incorporating poetry into the trio's repertoire.
Over the past ten years, Caramelo Trio has been featured on North Country Public Radio and has performed in both the Saranac Lake Summer Concert Series and the Brockport Summer Concert Series, in addition to numerous local settings.
All tickets are $10 at the door. Children 12 and younger listen for free. All students who attend for extra credit assignments also listen for free.

9. MAEVE GILCHRIST, HARPER, COMPOSER AND PRODUCER
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2023 AT 2 PM
Described by one critic as “a phenomenal harp player who can make her instrument ring with unparalleled purity”, Maeve Gilchrist has taken the Celtic (lever) harp to new levels of performance and visibility.
Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, and currently based in the New York City area, Maeve‘s innovative approach to her instrument stretches its harmonic limits and improvisational possibilities. She is as at home as a soloist with an internationally renowned orchestra as she is playing with a traditional Irish folk group or using electronic augmentation in a more contemporary, improvisatory setting.
Maeve has released five albums to date, including her most recent 2020 recording, The Harpweaver which was hailed by the Irish Times in its five-star review as “Buoyant, sprightly and utterly beguiling....a snapshot of a musician at the top of her game.”
In 2018 Maeve was a featured soloist on the Dreamworks blockbuster movie soundtrack, How to tame your dragon: The hidden world.
Maeve was the first lever harpist to be employed as an instructor by her alma mater, Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she taught for five years before switching to being a visiting artist in 2018.
All tickets $10 at the door. All children 12 and under listen for free. All upper grade students attending for extra credit assignments also listen for free. No one turned away!