FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  -- March    2009
Morgan Arts Council • Berkeley Springs, WV
www.macicehouse.org • 304-258-2300

Press contact only:  Mary Hott - 304-258-2300

NEW HARMONIES OPENS AT ICE HOUSE

BERKELEY SPRINGS FIRST WEST VIRGINIA LOCATION FOR  SMITHSONIAN EXHIBIT

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV ---- New Harmonies, a Smithsonian exhibit celebrating American roots music, opens at the Ice House in Berkeley Springs with a gala reception on Saturday, April 11 at 7:30pm.  It remains on display through May 22.  “We’ll have the exhibit open to the public during regular Ice House Gallery hours every weekend,” says Mary Hott, Executive Director of the Morgan Arts Council.  “We are also arranging school and group tours during the week by appointment.”  Trained docents are available for the tours.

The exhibit is a collaborative project of the Morgan Arts Council and the Morgan County Public Library with assistance from the Morgan Messenger.  It is made possible by the West Virginia Humanities Council.

New Harmonies is the sixth Museum on Main Street traveling exhibition produced by the Smithsonian Institution.  It tells the American musical story through seven major kiosks displaying photographs, instruments, lyrics and artist profiles.  There is also a listening station for the music.  The exhibition explores the work of well-known folk, gospel, country and blues artists who have inspired generations of musicians, like Ma Rainey, B.B. King, Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, Mahalia Jackson, Woody
Guthrie and Joan Baez.  It captures the spirit of musical styles that are at the heart of local heritage in the United States—Tejano, zydeco, polka, Cajun, conjunto and klezmer -- giving Americans a soundtrack and a voice for their stories. 

The main beat of the Smithsonian exhibition is the on-going cultural process that has made America the birthplace of more music than any place on earth. The exhibition provides a fascinating, inspiring, and toe-tapping listen to the American story of multi-cultural exchange. The story is full of surprises about familiar songs, histories of instruments, the roles of religion and technology, and the continuity of musical roots from "Yankee Doodle Dandy" to the latest hip hop CD.   As Bonnie Raitt says, “American roots music is at the center of this country’s soul.”

According to Hott, several concert opportunities are scheduled to deepen the impact for people including an evening of Gershwin played the way he would have, a gospel weekend,  a talk with rare recordings of West Virginia jazz and a big band tribute to Glenn Miller.  “These are all ‘roots’ music,” she says.  There is also a companion exhibit at the Library featuring more material on roots music. 

The Smithsonian exhibit inspired more than special events.  It also sparked the Morgan County Music Census which is seeking to list all those in the county who sing or play an instrument.  In depth documentation is planned for both historic music figures in Morgan County as well as some playing today.  Census forms are available online at the MAC website, the Library, the Ice House, Morgan Messenger and Star Theatre.  “Eventually, we’ll have this musical profile of Morgan County with all these folks available on our Website,” says Hott.  “The world will be able to see -- and hear -- extensive our musical roots are.  This exhibition is an important boost to all the local music here.”

The Berkeley Springs installation of the Smithsonian exhibit has several prestigious local sponsors including War Memorial Hospital, CNB and Kesecker Realty.  The yearlong Back To Our Roots celebration that has grown from the exhibit is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, WV Commission on the Arts, WV Humanities Council and hotel/motel tax funds from Morgan County and Bath. 

For a full schedule of Back To Our Roots activities, visit www.macicehouse.org or call 304-258-2300.  The Ice House is located at Independence and Mercer in downtown Berkeley Springs. 

DETAILED SCHEDULE NEW HARMONIES

Saturday, April 11 - 7:30pm.    Gala opening New Harmonies exhibition @ the Ice House.   Sponsored by: CNB, Kesecker Realty and War Memorial Hospital.

Wednesday, April 15 - 7pm   Roots Music Film Series: I’m Not There - The Bob Dylan Story.  Film @ the Ice House; discussion to follow @ Fairfax Coffee House, sponsor of the film series.

Saturday, April 18 - 7:30pm   Concert and talk: pianist and narrator Bill Messenger and tenor Alan Gephardt present the music of George Gershwin as he would have played it.  @ the Ice House.

Saturday and Sunday, April 25 & 26 -  Gospel Music weekend with workshops and performances by Eric Byrd, the McDaniel College Choir and local choir members.   Sunday, 3pm performance @ Berkeley Springs High School auditorium.
Sponsored by Morgan Sanitation.

Friday, May 1-- 7:30pm   Gala opening Delectable Mountains Quilt Show and Sale @ the Ice House.  Show hangs though June 7

Saturday, May 9 - 7:30pm & Sunday, May 10  - 3pm.    Piecework - staged readings of locally written plays with quilting themes. @ the Ice House.

Wednesday, May 20 - 7pm.  Roots Music Film Series: Walk the Line - Johnny Cash and June Carter..  Film @ the Ice House; discussion to follow @ Fairfax Coffee House, sponsor of the film series.

Friday, May 22 - Final day for New Harmonies exhibit.  Sponsored by: CNB, Kesecker Realty and War Memorial Hospital.

Saturday, May 23 - 3pm.   Lecture: Jazz History w/Dr. Chris Wilkerson, WVU @ the Ice House 7:30pm.  Dance & concert.  Tri-State Big Band plays Glenn Miller @ the Country Inn.