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[Culture] Phil Cunningham & Aly Bain at Crossroads, Friday 4/15

Daniel Flaumenhaft
Mon, 11 Apr 2005 20:20:59 -0700

1. This Friday: Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain
2. Upcoming events
3. General Crossroads information

Friday, April 15, 2005 at 7:30 pm
PHIL CUNNINGHAM AND ALY BAIN
Scottish fiddle and accordion masters
Calvary Church, 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia

Tickets are on a sliding scale: $15 recommended, $20 for special supporters, $10 for kids, seniors, students, and others who couldn’t afford to come otherwise.

A Root and Branch concert

On Friday, April 15, 2005, Crossroads Music’s Root and Branch concert series presents PHIL CUNNINGHAM AND ALY BAIN, two of Scotland’s most revered traditional musicians. The event will take place at West Philadelphia’s Calvary Center for Culture and Community at 7:30 pm. Tickets are on a sliding scale: $15 recommended, $20 for special supporters, $10 for kids, seniors, students, and others who couldn’t afford to come otherwise.

Widely regarded as one of the most exciting and innovative accordion players of the times, PHIL CUNNINGHAM has taken this instrument from strength to strength, setting the standards by which many young players fix their sights today. His early work with leading Scots band Silly Wizard (1976-1986) reclaimed a place for the instrument in the traditional music world and his astonishing dexterity and musicality has delighted audiences across the world.

Cunningham also works extensively in the television and film world as a composer , music director and presenter, is much sought after as a record producer, and continues to tour regularly as a solo performer and with long time musical partner and friend Aly Bain. His tunes are performed by Celtic musicians and bands all over the world, with the depth and beauty of his slow airs especially renowned among audiences and performers alike.

Phil was awarded the MBE (similar to a knighthood) in 2002 for services to Scottish Music and was voted Best Instrumentalist in the inaugural Scottish Traditional Music Awards in 2003.

ALY BAIN is the best-known and most significant fiddle player in the Shetland tradition and is arguably Scotland's finest living fiddler. Born in Lerwick, a small town on the Shetland Islands, Bain began learning the fiddle at the age of eleven from Tom Anderson, one of the true masters of Shetland music. Alert to the musical potential of dynamic interaction between Irish and Scottish tradition, Aly helped establish the legendary Boys of the Lough. Over the years he developed a unique playing technique, recognized for its highly dramatic style and emotion.

In 1994, Aly was awarded the MBE in recognition of his services to music. In 1999, he received the degree of Doctor of Music from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

In 1988 Phil and Aly began what is now a well known performing partnership with a series of six television shows. Since 1989, Phil and Aly have toured together in Scotland on an annual basis.

For more information, including photos, see:
http://www.whirlierecords.co.uk
http://www.philcunningham.com

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, April 23
Flook
Irish traditional music for the 21st century

Saturday, May 7
Spruce Hill May Fair
(In Clark Park)

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Crossroads events fall into three main groups. Philadelphia Crossroads continues the original Crossroads Music Series, which presented contrasting but related music from two different Philadelphia communities on the second Saturday of each month. Beginning in October, Root and Branch concerts continue the former Cherry Tree Music Co-op's series of concerts by nationally-known touring artists. Finally, the Folklife Center's Nada Brahma (Sanskrit for "The World is Sound") events will present locally-based and national and international touring artists from culturally-specific traditions around the world. In addition, we collaborate with other organizations in producing several free community events at other West Philadelphia locations each year.

All concerts take place at 7:30 pm in the historic Calvary United Methodist Church. Oak paneling, red carpets, and a horseshoe balcony make the room feel more like an intimate theater than a church. Calvary Center is located at 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue. The 34 subway-surface trolley stops at the door, and a free, well-lit, and city-maintained parking lot is located on the block. Dinner and refreshments are available at the concerts and at excellent restaurants nearby.

For advance tickets, directions, or other information:

http://www.crossroads.calvary-center.org
215-729-1028

(We have limited office hours but check voicemail several times a day -- if there is no answer, please leave a message and we’ll call you back).

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  • [Culture] Phil Cunningham & Aly Bain at Crossroads, Friday 4/15 Daniel Flaumenhaft