WS549: Judy Collins
2009-11-16Download MP3
JUDY COLLINS is one of the major interpretive singers in the world. She launched her recording career at the age of 22 with her 1961 guitar-based folk debut A Maid of Constant Sorrow, has been going with her gut ever since she released 1966’s lushly orchestrated In My Life, which featured such songwriters as Jacques Brel and Kurt Weill. On her 1967 album, Wildflowers, she began to record her own compositions and earned her first gold record and major hit, the Grammy-Award winning “Both Sides Now.” By the 1970s, she was known for her versatility and range, scoring hits with both the traditional Christian hymn “Amazing Grace” and Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway ballad “Send In the Clowns,” which also earned her a Grammy Award in 1975. Over the years, Collins has continued to release albums, including several beloved Christmas records in the ’90s, as well as 2005’s Portrait of An American Girl, which featured several of her own compositions. Aside from her music, Judy is a modern-day Renaissance woman who is a long time social activist, an accomplished painter, actor, filmmaker, record label head (Wildflower Records founded in 1999), in-demand keynote speaker for mental health and suicide prevention organizations and author. Her latest CD is Judy Collins Sings Lennon & McCartney on Wildwood Records. It’s her 44th album in her 47 year career and features 12 classic tracks from the Beatles’ colossal catalog. WoodSongs is very honored to have this living legend for a Special Event Broadcast where Judy will be the sole artist on the show.
WS548: Mark O'Connor and the Appalachia Waltz Trio + Tommy Emmanuel
2009-11-15Download MP3
MARK O’CONNOR returns to the WoodSongs stage for a Special Event Broadcast where he’ll be the sole artist for the broadcast. Mark is a multi-Grammy-winning violinist and composer who is widely recognized as one of the most gifted contemporary composers in America, and one of the brightest talents of his generation. He's studied and recorded with some of the 20th Century's greatest musicians, including Stephane Grappeli, Benny Thomasson, and Yo Yo Ma. Along the way, between these many marvelous musical extremes, Mark absorbed knowledge and influence from the multitude of musical styles and genres he studied. Now he has melded and shaped these influences into a new American Classical music, and is perpetuating his vision of an American School of string playing. His latest CD, released on OMAC Records is a journey into the heart of America and contains his String Quartets No.'s 2 & 3. Like all of O'Connor's work, each piece takes deep inspiration from the landscape and traditions of America to produce music that is both familiar and original. Mark will be performing on the show with his Appalachia Waltz trio featuring Mike Block on Cello and Gillian Gallagher on Viola. The trio will also perform two pieces with the Verdi Quartet featuring students from the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra.
Two-time Grammy nominee Tommy Emmanuel is one of Australia's most respected musicians. The legendary guitarist has a professional career that spans almost five decades and continues to intersect with some of the finest musicians throughout the world. Guitar legend Chet Atkins was one of the first to inspire Emmanuel to try this "fingerpicker" style as a child. Decades later, Atkins himself became one of Emmanuel's biggest fans.