Concerts On The Hill: St. John’s Selects
Skye Consort and Emma Björling
ROBERTS HALL: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 7pm
$30 in advance, $35 day of; cash, check, or CC accepted at the door. Advanced tickets on sale now.
NOTE: THIS EVENT WILL BE HELD IN INTIMATE ROBERTS HALL, A VENUE WHICH HAS A MAXIMUM SEATED CAPACITY OF 40.
All St. John’s events are presented by suggested donation only, with the option to purchase tickets in advance for peace of mind.
About the Artists
Skye Consort & Emma Björling perform whirling polskas, groovy reels, passionate love songs and breathtaking hymns all found in or inspired by music from Scandinavia, The British Isles, French Canada and the New World. Their trans-Atlantic arrangements and original compositions spring from an extraordinary collaboration consisting of voices, fiddle, nyckelharpa, cello, bouzouki, banjo, and percussion. Each musician brings their individual passion to both traditional practices and inventive music-making.
Skye Consort was formed in 1999, has performed and toured extensively, and has 8 full-length albums. In late 2018, Skye Consort, in collaboration with Emma Björling, created a new repertoire grown from Scandinavian, Québecois and Celtic roots. The recording was released on LEAF Music in May 2019 and is distributed worldwide on Naxos. Their self-titled debut album, Skye Consort & Emma Björling, won the OPUS (QC, Canada) award for best world music album 2020.
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Emma Björling
(lead voice, shruti box, percussion)
Emma is an award-winning Swedish singer, composer, arranger, active in the renowned Scandinavian bands Kongero and Lyy. Both bands have toured the world, and are busy in the European folk-trad scene. Emma regularly teaches and conducts workshops all over the world.
Amanda Keesmaat
(cello, vocals)
Principal cellist of Arion Baroque orchestra and director of Space Time Continuo, Amanda has performed as principal cello with Early Music groups across Canada, including Tafelmusik, Les Violon du Roy and The Pacific Baroque Orchestra. Amanda Keesmaat, has also performed with La Nef, Les Charbonniers de L'Enfer, OktoEcho, Jean-François Bélanger, Constantinople and Projet ClaireObscur.
Seán Dagher
(cittern/bouzouki, banjo & vocals)
Seán is the artistic director of La Nef and an active performer, arranger, and composer of music from various folk and classical music traditions. He won the OPUS "Creation of the Year" award in 2014 for Sea Songs and has been nominated for numerous Adisq awards. He is renowned for his sea shanties with Ubisoft video games, Assassin’s Creed and Black Flag. He is also host of the popular YouTube Series, Shanty of the Week, and has toured Europe, Ireland, Canada, and the US with UK group, The Longest Johns.
Alex Kehler
(fiddle, nyckelharpa, vocals)
In addition to his work with Skye Consort, Alex is a member of La Nef, Kehler Williams duo, Triton, and plays regularly with Andrew Wells-Oberegger. Alex has extensive experience teaching nyckelharpa and fiddle at music camps, leading workshops and playing for Contra-dance, Balfolk, and Quebecois dance. He has toured across North America and to Europe with his various projects. He also is earning a reputation as a session recording artist for video game composers such as Ubisoft's For Honor and movie soundtracks. As a result of this work he teaches in the composition department at l'Université de Sherbrooke in their programme 'Musique à l'image' for up and coming young composers.