Mickey Hart to give a talk in Vermont

During his travels around the globe, former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart discovered the music of the rain forest people in New Guinea and the Amazon region, Native American drumming and singing, the gamelan orchestras of Bali and the shamanic chants of Siberia.
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Hart plans to share his experiences with an audience at the Southern Vermont Arts Center during a event called "Songcatchers."
Hart will talk history, future
He will discuss the history of songcatchers, who record indigenous music. Hart will also talk about the technological advancements that have made song gathering possible.
Christopher Madkour, the executive director of the center, said that the event would give Hart a chance to teach Vermonters how music is gathered throughout the world.
"It's been a passion of Hart's to trace the history of music around the world," Madkour said. "He intends to bring a new awareness of this very different music to a younger audience."
Madkour said that guests should look forward to a dynamic program, during which Hart will show pictures from his travels and play samples of music.
Hart has already written about the subject. In 2003, working with National Geographic and writer K. M. Kostyal, he published "Songcatchers: In Search of the World's Music."
Madkour expects about 200 people to attend the event.
Organizers hope that guests arrive early and stay late to look at the two new exhibitions at the arts center, Elliot Landy's "Woodstock Vision: The Spirit of a Generation" and "From Picasso to Warhol: Art from the Sixties and Seventies."
Madkour hopes audiences think of these exhibits, which focus on the Woodstock generation of the late 1960s and early 1970s, as a companion to Hart's presentation.
Ellie Deegan, Hart's lecture agent, said that the musician hopes to bring audiences into contact with musical cultures that they would not have otherwise known about.
"The Grateful Dead were a part of the discovery of world music and lost music," Deegan said. "Hart sees his work as part of the recovery of ethnic music throughout the world."
Hart plans to finish his presentation with a question and answer session. A reception and book signing will take place after the event.
Tickets for "Songcatchers" are for sale at the Arts Center. For more information call (802) 362-1405.

from Bennington Banner