Performers from Around the World Gather to Celebrate Music of the Sea
Mystic, Conn. (May 27, 2015) — Musicians from around the world will come to Mystic Seaport to celebrate the musical traditions of the Golden Age of Sail at the 36th annual Sea Music Festival, Thursday through Sunday, June 11-14. The Festival is the premier sea music event in North America.
This year’s roster includes music from Great Britain, France, and Canada, along with singers from across the United States. The weekend’s festivities include daytime and evening concerts, special performances for children, instructional workshops, a scholars’ symposium, and a unique opportunity to witness sea music at work aboard the Museum’s historic vessels.
More than 15 individuals and groups will perform at the Festival. A highlight will be Alan Reid and Rob van Sante, who will present a lively show featuring Reid’s compositions and traditional material, rooted largely in the music of the Scottish landscape, its cities, countryside, and coastline. Their musical cycle “The Adventures of John Paul Jones” is centered on the life and times of the Scottish native and American naval hero. The music, all composed by Reid, reflects folk music styles of the various countries associated with Jones–Scotland, the United States, Russia, and France–while exploring the highs and lows in the extraordinary life of the famous mariner.
In addition, the group MARA will bring their large repertoire of Breton, French, English, Welsh, and Irish music to the Festival and visitors can take in performances from Sara Grey and Kieron Means, Judy Cook, the Northern Neck Chantey Singers, the S.S. Chanteens, Ian Bell, Charlie Zahm, Pressgang Mutiny, and the Mystic Seaport Chantey Staff, including Geoff Kaufman, Craig Edwards, and Don Sineti.
All workshops and daytime concerts in the Festival are included in regular Mystic Seaport admission. Special tickets are required for evening concerts and can be purchased by calling 860.572.0711, or at the Museum’s main entrance. Weekend passes are also available. College students will be admitted into the Festival for the youth rate upon presentation of a current student ID.
For more information, including ticket packages, musicians’ bios, and a schedule of performances, visit www.mysticseaport.org/seamusicfestival.
Returning this year is an evening sea music “contra dance,” a style of partnered folk dancing traditional to New England. The dance will be held Saturday evening from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Mystic German Club’s Frohsinn Hall, located directly across the street from the Museum’s main entrance on Route 27. There is an $8 admission fee for the dance.
The annual Music of the Sea Symposium, hosted in partnership with Connecticut College and the University of Connecticut at Avery Point, will be held on Friday and Saturday, June 12-13. The Symposium, which features presentations of themed papers by some of the country’s leading maritime music scholars, explores the interaction between sea, music, and song. The first day of the Symposium will be held at the Olin Science Center on the Connecticut College campus in New London, CT. Admission is free. The Symposium continues Saturday, June 13, at Mystic Seaport in the Greenmanville Church. Museum admission is required. For further details and a list of Symposium presenters and topics, visit www.mysticseaport.org/smfsymposium
This event is made possible by the Friends of the Sea Music Festival, who raise funds each year to generously support sea music at Mystic Seaport.