From November 2023 – May 2024, the Sigal Music Museum will present 12 lectures in their Distinguished Lecture Series to accompany their new exhibit Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred. The exhibit includes international instruments and looks at musical cultures, rites, and traditions from around the world. The series will start on November 5 with the lecture “A Spooky Dive Into Shubert” presented by composer and museum Board Member Jon Grier. SC Humanities supported this program series with a Major Grant.
The Worlds Apart: Musical Instruments from Secular to Sacred exhibit aims to increase public access to historical instruments from around the world and improve visitors’ understanding of musical traditions at the global level. Expanding beyond the typical parameters of the Western musical canon, Worlds Apart seeks to expose audiences to musical instruments and customs that are often overlooked or exotified. The instruments and other exhibit materials will offer visitors new perspectives on global music and a chance to consider how music is used for prayer and leisure in cultures around the world.
The Distinguished Lecture Series will kick off with “A Spooky Dive into Schubert” on Sunday, November 5 at 3:00 p.m. The program, presented by Jon Grier, looks at how Franz Schubert makes Göthe’s dramatic poem even spookier in “Erlkonig” with his musical setting, subtly shifting mood with every phrase and turning it into a brief-but-gripping 4-minute opera. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are requested. Learn more here.
Other upcoming events include:
Sunday, November 19, 2023 | 3:00 p.m. – Iliana Rose (Cuban Music)
Iliana Rose leads a Cuban Jazz band in the Greenville area. She will be delivering a lecture/demonstration of various styles of Cuban music, including dance, rhythmic structure, sub-genres, and history. Her website provides more info http://ilianarose.com/ The lecture will begin at 3:00pm and last for approximately 90 minutes. Free to the public.
Sunday, December 3, 2023 | 3:00 p.m. – Xiao-Fen Min (Chinese Music)
Min Xiao Fen is a world-renowned player of the Pipa, a traditional Chinese instrument that dates back over 2,000 years. She has been lauded on NPR, the New York Times, and has been commissioned by the Smithsonian Institute. Her lecture will be on the Pipa and other traditional Chinese instruments and how they still contribute to music in the 21st century. http://minbluepipa.com/. The lecture will begin at 3:00pm and last for approximately 90 minutes. Free to the public.
Sunday, December 17, 2023 | 3:00 p.m. – Adam Maalouf (Eastern Percussion)
Adam Maalouf is a nationally-renowned percussionist who specializes in eastern percussion, including the handpan. https://www.adammaalouf.com/biography. The lecture will begin at 3:00pm and last for approximately 90 minutes. Free to the public.
Sunday, January 7, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. – Suresh Jonnalagadda (“The Sitar in Indian Music”)
Suresh Jonnalagadda will give a grand overview of Indian music and the sitar. The lecture will begin at 3:00pm and last for approximately 90 minutes. Free to the public.
Reservations Requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/distinguished-lecture-series-suresh-jonnalagadda-tickets-778423173667
Sunday, January 21, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. – Darcy Kuronen (“Tuneful Treasurers”)
Join Darcy Kuronen, former curator of musical instruments at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, for engaging anecdotes from his long career of working with historical instruments in collections throughout the United States, including examples at the Sigal Music Museum. Kuronen will describe how he came to work in this unusual but fascinating field and share some of the remarkable stories behind rare instruments he has discovered and researched over the years, from the earliest American harmonica to a charming upright piano made in 18th-century Ireland.
The lecture will begin at 3:00pm and last for approximately 90 minutes. Free to the public.
Reservations Requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/distinguished-lecture-series-darcy-kuronen-tickets-778426132517
Sunday, February 25, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. – Kevin Spears (“Kalimba: The Hidden History of an Africa Instrument”) Hailed by many as one of the best kalimba players alive today, musical renegade Kevin Spears the “KalimbaMan” has astounded audiences internationally by reimagining what is possible on the kalimba a traditional African folk instrument. Spears masterfully utilizes human ingenuity and technology to weave horns, bass, violins, synths, drums and world percussion to literally create a one-man folk-world-funk band that will leave you spellbound and dancing all the same. Experience up close an innovator and one-man ensemble. The lecture will begin at 3:00 p.m. and last for approximately 90 minutes. Free to the public. Reservations Requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/distinguished-lecture-series-kevin-spears-tickets-778427907827
Sunday, March 10, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. – Chinobay: Ugandan Musician and Educator
Born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, Chinobay (née Herbert Kinobe) grew up playing the instruments of local Buganda musicians who provided the soundtrack for the Kanyange king’s palace just up the hill from his house. Deeply influenced by these musicians and their history of resistance, much of Chinobay’s earlier work featured folk songs that he learnt from these musicians. A few years later, he started to play updated versions of these folk classics and learning several traditional instruments. Now as a songwriter, educator, and intercultural facilitator, Chinobay’s original work brings people’s stories to life to show the richness of Africa in all of its facets––not only as a backdrop for suffering. His next Album, still in progress, is a meeting point for global cultures, incorporating contributions from numerous musicians from the Global South. The lecture will begin at 3:00 p.m. and last for approximately 90 minutes. Free to the public. Reservations Requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/distinguished-lecture-series-chinobay-tickets-785119151517
Sunday, March 24, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. – Keith Davis on The Art of Jazz Improvisation
During his 40-year career as a professional musician, Keith Davis has established a distinguished reputation as a jazz pianist, composer, and educator. He has toured with the Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw orchestras, and with Matt “Guitar” Murphy (Blues Brothers). Other appearances have included performances with musical greats David “Fathead” Newman, Ben Riley, Donald Byrd, Mike Mainieri, Pat LaBarbera, Jeff Hirshfield, Jamie Baum, Joel Spencer, Wallace Roney, Javon Jackson and Rakalam Bob Moses, among others. The lecture will begin at 3:00 p.m. and last for approximately 90 minutes. Free to the public. Reservations Requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/distinguished-lecture-series-keith-davis-tickets-844846497617
Sunday, April 7, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. – Free Planet Radio
Join us as Chris Rosser and River Guerguerian give a behind-the-scenes look at recording, performing, and composing with traditional instruments in a modern musical environment. As Free Planet Radio, their musical partnership began with a clear mission statement “the shared vision of multi-instrumentalists exploring the infinite and seamless relationships between musical cultures through the universal language of sound.”
Free to the public
Reservations requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/distinguished-lecture-series-free-planet-radio-tickets-818700022807
Location: Sigal Music Museum, 516 Buncombe Street Greenville, SC 29601
Sunday, April 21, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. – Ted Monnich, ” A Musical Tour of Turkey”
Dr. Monnich plays the Turkish long-necked lute, the saz. He grew up in the Pittsburgh area with a yearly ritual of attending that city’s wonderful international folk festival, which has helped preserve the traditions of the many cultures represented there. He played guitar and balalaika as a youngster, both of which he forgets. On a trip to Istanbul, he became fascinated with traditional Turkish folk music. He acquired a saz, and found Turkish teachers from Cappadocia, Ankara, and Istanbul who he has studied with for over 25 years. His most influential teacher has been Professor Dr. Tevfik Alici. He eventually gathered musicians for a new band dedicated to Turkish music. Ted can be heard featured most prominently on that most Turkish of Turkish songs, Fidayda, which is best played on saz. He plays the saz and the divan, a larger version of the same instrument that gives a very deep, sonorous sound. He also studies Turkish classical and sacred music on tambur. Ted has taught classes and workshops at music festivals and programs throughout the USA, and has performed with his band, Turku, worldwide. Dr. Monnich is a researcher of early Ottoman history, and regularly travels to Turkey for research and lecturing.
Free to the public
Reservations requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/distinguished-lecture-series-ted-monnich-a-musical-tour-of-turkey-tickets-804003374737
Location: Sigal Music Museum, 516 Buncombe Street Greenville, SC 29601
Sunday, May 5 | 3:00 p.m. – Cynthia Sayer, “The Unexpected Journey of Jazz Banjo”
Debuted at Lincoln Center, a presentation with live performance that delves into the banjo’s controversial social and musical history, including its impact on Black Americans and women, and why the instrument’s venerable role in jazz has been overlooked. Praised for her “drive and virtuosity” by The New York Times, instrumentalist/vocalist/bandleader Cynthia Sayer is renowned for bringing the swinging sounds of banjo to concert and festival audiences worldwide.
Free to the public
Reservations requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/distinguished-lecture-series-cynthia-sayer-the-unexpected-journey-of-jazz-tickets-778436353087
Location: Sigal Music Museum, 516 Buncombe Street Greenville, SC 29601
The Sigal Music Museum celebrates music through the ages by entertaining and informing audiences through interactive exhibits, educational programs and intimate concert performances. Learn more: https://sigalmusicmuseum.org/.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos, and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
