Festivalink.Net To Partner With The Savannah Music Festival
The Web’s Top Live Music Download Site Will Offer Archival Performances of Jazz, Acoustic And Roots Music From One of the
Nation’s Most Unique Gatherings
“The Savannah Music Festival has evolved into a marathon of Zydeco, Gershwin, Gospel and Southern Rock that spills across the
city."
-The New York Times
Nashville, Tenn. - The Savannah Music Festival (SMF), Georgia’s largest musical arts celebration, is one of the most distinctive cross
genre music festivals in the world. In its long history, the 17-day long SMF has built an archive of recordings documenting the living
musical traditions of jazz, classical, blues, bluegrass, Gospel, American and international roots music artists.
“Our festival celebrates the musical arts by assembling world-class performers for a variety of concerts, special productions and one-
time-only collaborations,” says Rob Gibson, SMF Executive & Artistic Director. “We are delighted to partner with Festivalink.Net to make
these singular performances available to everyone through the web as well as on a CD available to concertgoers.”
The first SMF compilation Live From Savannah Music Festival: Jazz and Americana Selections 2004 -2007 features highlights from
singular performances recorded in the last five years including: Mando Madness (2005) a new grass and jazz jam featuring Tony
Williamson (Williamson Brothers), Sam Bush (New Grass Revival, Emmylou Harris), Mike Marshall (Modern Mandolin Quartet), David
Grisman (Dawg Band, Stephane Grappelli) and jazz mandolinist Don Stiernberg, backed up by the legendary band Psychograss; Le Jazz
Hot (2007) with Gypsy jazz guitarist John Jorgenson, guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, drummer Jeff Brillinger (Chet Baker), trombonist Wycliffe
Gordon (Wynton Marsalis Septet), clarinetist Ken Peplowski (George Shearing) and bass player Greg Cohen (John Zorn's Masada
Quartet); Piano Showdown (2006/2007) with Marcus Roberts and the boogie-woogie piano of Bob Seeley (Meade Lux Lewis); Marcus
Roberts Trio in Swing Time (2007), featuring special guests Peplowski and Gordon; Gershwin Night (2004) with violinist Daniel Hope
(SMF’s Assoc. Artistic Director) and pianist Sebastian Knauer performing violinist Jascha Heifetz’s arrangements of Gershwin classics
as well as tunes by Dobro master Jerry Douglas.
“The Savannah Music Festival archive is full of remarkable performances,” says Ann Blonston, General Manager of FestivaLink.net “The
shows were professionally recorded and mixed and every tune we're including has the artists’ blessing. We’ll give the Festival’s ticket
buyers a taste of the breadth of the Festival, by releasing the first volume of the compilation during the festival this spring. That music, and
much more, will be available for download on FestivaLink.net.”
FestivaLink.net’s success with fans and promoters is due to their dedication to capture magical “festival moments” and make them
widely available with fair compensation for everyone involved: artists, songwriters, and presenters. FestivaLink.net is known for the high
the quality of its recordings. They work hand in hand with Airshow engineers in Boulder, CO, to post-produce the performances to bring
out the musicians’ best.
“We're gratified by the response of artists to our service,” says Ann Bloston. “Audiences love to hear live performances. It’s our mission to
deliver the best possible recording we can. These shows are keepers.” Recordings are offered in three popular formats: protection-free
and speedy MP3s, CD-quality FLAC downloads compatible with your iPod or other MP3 player, and the still-popular and convenient CD,
sent to you by mail.
FestivaLink.net is proud to be part of SMF’s continuing mission to document the best music America, and the world, has to offer. “We
work in genres where careers span a lifetime,” Blonston concludes. “Artists in these genres can still entertain in their 80s. We aspire to
the equivalent longevity in the digital world, to help artists keep their music in front of new listeners. It’s our goal to keep those long
careers vital.”
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For details on specific recordings, visit www.festivalink.net
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Redeeming the Legacy of Music Historian John Work III
Fisk Professor’s Contributions Celebrated through Book, CD and Exhibit
Nashville, Tenn.—Fisk University scholar and music historian John Work III made invaluable contributions in preserving a richer, more
detailed and ultimately more accurate view of the life of the black Delta community and the music that ran through it with his field
recordings and work with Alan Lomax and the Library of Congress. A new exhibition celebrating his work, The Beautiful Music that
Surrounds You, opens at Fisk University with a gala reception on Feb. 19 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin
Library. Free and open to the public, the event is sponsored by Fisk University, Vanderbilt University Press and The Arts Center of Cannon
County.
The exhibit and opening are the latest in a series of event shining new light on Work’s contributions in preserving an important part of
American history. Vanderbilt University Press recently published Lost Delta Found:Rediscovering the Fisk University-Library Of Congress
Coahoma County Study, 1941-1942. The book presents long lost research from three noted Fisk University scholars—John W. Work,
Lewis Wade Jones and Samuel C. Adams, Jr.—who journeyed with folklorist Alan Lomax of the Library of Congress to Coahoma County,
Mississippi. Their purpose was to document the musical habits and history of the black community there. The field notes, interviews, and
musical transcriptions of the Fisk researchers were a major component of the study and were to be published jointly by Fisk and the
Library of Congress. The Fisk material, however, disappeared in Washington D.C., before the findings could be published.
The book was followed by the release of Recording Black Culture, John Work III, a CD featuring Work’s personal field recordings of
sacred harp singing, quartets, string bands, blues and gospel singing. The music here represents a broad cross-section of styles and
gives a fuller, more nuanced representation of the music that permeated the African-American community in the earlier part of the 20th
century. The CD’s liner notes, written by music scholar Bruce Nemerov, who also co-edited Lost Delta Found, have been nominated for a
GRAMMY™.
The exhibit, Lost Delta Found and Recording Black Culture make it impossible to overlook the contributions of John Work III in preserving
and celebrating African-American music and culture. In many ways this trifecta of events celebrating Work raises to newfound
prominence an important historian who has for too long been overlooked. Thanks to Work and his efforts to capture an important time in
American music, it is indeed possible to revel in the beautiful music that surrounds us.
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Nashville Chamber Orchestra To Become Orchestra Nashville
Name Change Ushers in Dynamic Projects and Partnerships for the New Year
For many, there is no better time than the New Year for a transformation. The Nashville Chamber Orchestra is doing just that with the
adoption of a new name, Orchestra Nashville, and a new aesthetic to creatively represent the progressive organization. Their mission to
engage and inspire audiences and musicians with the innovative presentation of traditional classical repertory and new music that
celebrates Nashville's eclectic music community remains unchanged.
The move to "Orchestra Nashville" marks the second name change in the organization's history. Originally known regionally as the
Cumberland Chamber Orchestra, the organization changed their name to the Nashville Chamber Orchestra in 1997 to coincide with their
Warner Brothers Records CD release debut Conversations in Silence. Including the word "Nashville" in the new name better represented
their collaborations with artists in the local music community and the record release gave the orchestra and its conductor/music director
Paul Gambill, greater exposure to a national audience. It is clear that, more than ten years after the last name change, the new title
"Orchestra Nashville" better embodies their "Music Without Boundaries" priority.
"The name change gives us an opportunity for a more expansive definition of what our orchestra is," says Paul Gambill. The separation
from "chamber orchestra" frees the organization from its overtly formal connotation and better describes the orchestra's more fluid idea of
performance.
Gambill's vision for the growth for the orchestra has always remained steadfast. Critical acclaim and a GRAMMY™ nomination for their
recordings highlight their history. The intimacy Gambill creates between the audience and the musicians both during performances, and
online (uncovering the behind the scenes activities of the orchestra) puts this unique recording and performing entity in a category apart
from other orchestras and earned Gambill the Nashville Scene critics award for "Best Conductor To Turn Classical Music on its Head."
As before, the name change will be accompanied by the release of new-recorded material. In February 2008, Orchestra Nashville will
release three singles from collaborations with current Artists-in-Residence John Jorgenson and Darrell Scott. Recorded during the 2007-
08 season, these singles are the first releases from what will be three full length "Uncovered" recording projects powered by ArtistShare,
where fans are granted exclusive, behind-the-scenes VIP access to the orchestra and its Artists-in-Residence as well as the new
recordings for a one-time fee.
Online community participation will also influence programming in 2008, showcasing Orchestra Nashville's core values of innovation,
intimacy, excellence and fun, in action. "Music of the Spirit," a program scheduled in partnership with Vanderbilt University's God in Music
City Project, asks the question, "What is Spiritual Music?" The "Music of the Spirit" blog entry on the Orchestra Nashville Blog creates a
communication channel for fans to contribute ideas about the connection of spirituality and musical expression. Recognizing the
importance of spirituality to the local community, Gambill will select pieces discussed on The "Music of the Spirit" blog to be included in
Orchestra Nashville's upcoming performance.
In the coming months, Gambill will announce the 2008-09 season and their new artist in residence and the composer-in-residence. He
will also announce a newly commissioned work from an artist of international repute and unveil a new partnership with Belmont
University's Curb School of Music to record their projects at the legendary Oceanway Studios. All signs point to Orchestra Nashville's
evolution into an exciting new fourth sector of business entity, where a non-profit is profitable for the public good. Orchestra Nashville
serves the Nashville community first and foremost.
Orchestra Nashville is made possible in part through support from the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts
Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, and passionate Orchestra Nashville fans.
For more information about Orchestra Nashville's name change, current projects, or ways to become involved visit OrchestraNashville.org
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