Simple Gifts brings life to folk music in Marion

Karen Hirshon, Linda Littleton of Simple Gifts

MARION — The Five Nights on Campus cultural and performing arts series will present the ethnic folk stylings of Simple Gifts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 12 in Morrill Hall Auditorium at Ohio State University at Marion, 1465 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Marion.
Karen Hirshon and Linda Littleton, who make up the talented duet, play a wide variety of music ranging from lively Irish jigs and down-home American reels to hard-driving Klezmer freilachs, haunting Gypsy melodies, and exotic Balkan dance tunes.
Throughout their performance, Simple Gifts puts their own distinctive stamp on traditional tunes, creating some of the finest arrangements in folk music today: swing fiddle creeps into a Romanian dance and spoons show up in an Irish reel.
Littleton began her musical studies with classical violin lessons at age seven.  Over the years, she has studied with Joanne Zagst Feldman, Ray Montoni, and Geoffrey Michaels.  As a student at Princeton University, Littleton majored in philosophy, with a minor in music and a specialty of Philosophy of Music.  She has a strong background as a classical violinist, having served as principal second violin in the Nittany Valley Symphony.  In addition to violin, she plays hammered dulcimer, bowed psaltery, 5-string banjo, and recorders.
Hirshon was raised in a family that emphasized church music, and she grew up singing and easily harmonizing hymns. At age 10, she began violin lessons, and three years later, her fascination with blues and American folk music led her to study folk guitar. As a student at Grinnell College in Iowa, Hirson designed her own specialty “Traditional Music in American Culture” within the field of American Studies, combining history, anthropology, and music.
She studied and was influenced by ragtime, classical, American string band music, African drumming, blues, gospel, and jazz. During the 1970’s, Hirson toured nationally with the bluegrass band Whetstone Run and helped found the American old-time group Rustical Quality String Band, with which she has released two albums.  Over the years, she has picked up baritone fiddle, mandolin, banjolin, banjo-guitar, and a variety of percussion instruments.
Ticket prices are $10 for general admission, $9 for seniors and $4 for students. There is no charge for children 5 years of age or younger. Tickets are available in advance or at the door.  For advance tickets or for more information contact Gary Iams, Ohio State Marion Office of Community Relations at 740-725-6253 or email: iams.18@osu.edu.

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Posted by Kenton Times on April 5, 2012. Filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry