Branford Folk Music Society Presents New Concert

From Walt Michael & Co: Throughout his more than four decades as a hammered dulcimer virtuoso, Maryland's Walt Michael has virtually "played it all".

He's appeared at The White House, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the closing ceremonies of the XIII Olympics Winter Games at Lake Placid, N.Y. And with his ensemble, Walt Michael & Co., he's appeared at major folk festivals throughout America, Canada and Europe and enjoyed sundry appearances on a multitude of national television and radio stations.

It is truly an honor to have Walt Michael & Co. grace our stage at Branford Folk.

Walt was an influential figure during the revival of the hammered dulcimer in folk music in the 1970s, establishing a repertoire that ranges from old-time Southern Appalachian, to Celtic, to breath-taking and lyrical original compositions. He's a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist as well with 14 albums and instructional videos to his credit.

He will be joined for this concert by what he terms his "New York Ensemble" featuring the incredible twin fiddling of Evan Stover and Frank Orsini, both thoroughbreds of the Hudson River Valley music scene, as well as the impeccable signature bass playing of Tom Wetmore. Seamless four-part vocals additionally distinguish this ensemble from other fiddle bands.

The members of Walt Michael & Co. have been in one another's musical circles and recordings in various scenarios since 1973 and joined forces in 1988. Walt's previous incarnations included Bottle Hill and Michael, McCreesh & Campbell.

Most important to Walt, he serves as Artist in Residence at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland (his alma mater when it was Western Maryland College), as well as founder and executive director of Common Ground on the Hill, an international arts organization with ties to the college which seeks to promote interracial harmony through the traditional arts (www.commongroundonthehill.org). Common Ground has marked 24 years of concerts, lectures and workshops at the college, culminating in a summer festival that attracts thousands of people annually.

In addition, Walt's diverse musical background includes composing and performing collaboratively with both the Pilobolus Dance Theater and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He was the musical producer, composer and recording artist for the Outdoor Living Network's documentary, Cowboy 101, and he's collaborated with five-time Tennessee State Fiddle Champion Jim Wood to produce two instrumental albums. His music figures prominently in the feature length movie "The Last Blast" in which he also plays two roles: a punk rocker and a G-man.

It's little wonder that The Living Tradition Magazine said this about Walt: "An antidote to all the spoon feeding in-yer-face music that thrusts itself upon us – yes even in the folk world, Walt Michael's music steadfastly refuses to show even a glimmer of lowest common denominator, and here remains resolutely intelligent, both in its selection and execution of the material."
Admission: $20 non-members, $17 members, $5 children 12 and under.

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