Celtic and Balkan tunes and original and seasonal songs and poems, strings plucked and bowed, clarinet and drums will fire up the longest night of the year. Come celebrate the Winter Solstice with SeaMuse!
Every year, Stanley and Kip Greenthal, Christos Govetas and Kim Goldov create new instrumentals and unusual arrangements not heard at other holiday concerts.
This past September, Stanley, Kip and Kim and Nancy Goldov travelled to Brittany, France. There they met Soig Siberil, master Breton guitarist and Stanley’s long time mentor for arranging and playing Breton music. After following mysterious prompts from their GPS, they arrived in their rental car at the tiny village of Bouqueho, to attend Soig’s solo concert. They found only one stone building alongside a church at a crossroads in the middle of nowhere. Soig came out, thrilled to see Stanley after so many years, coming all the way from the U.S. to see him perform. Through the evening, people filled the little concert space, reminding Stanley and Kip of how people on Lopez fill the LCCA. This year’s Winter Solstice concert will feature a couple of tunes inspired by their visit to Brittany. They also attended a Breton Fest Deiz, a day time festival celebrating the traditional music, dance and culture of Brittany.
The group’s name, SeaMuse, reflects the collaborative spirit which inspires how they play and arrange music together. Their repertoire includes original compositions and traditional tunes and songs from coastal regions and islands where the sea has a strong presence in people’s lives. Stanley has written a new song, “Hope in the Dark,” inspired by Rebecca Solnit’s book with the same title. The group will also perform “Solstice Fire,” a song celebrating the Winter Solstice, and Kip will read poems reflecting the time of year, including works by W. S. Merwin and James Richardson. Christos will bring his unique and lively pieces from Epirus and other regions in Greece, while Kim will feature a song composed for his daughter, Hanah, as well as contributing lively tunes from Turkey and Appalachia.
Stanley sings and plays guitar, bouzouki, laouto and lavta (Greek and Turkish lutes). With five recordings to his credit, “Sing Out!” magazine described his latest, “First Song,” as “…a fascinating voyage to the highlands of Scotland, the Breton lands and the islands of the Mediterranean.” His wife Kip adds harmony vocals and percussion, and compelling spoken word pieces set to music.
Christos has performed extensively in the U.S. and Greece. He sings and plays clarinet, oud and bouzouki and performs regularly with his group Dromeno in Seattle, and across the U.S. He also recorded and performed with Bill Frisell’s group, The Intercontinentals.
Kim plays violin specializing in folk music from around the world. He also plays klezmer music from Eastern Europe, and music from Crete. He was a member of Yeni Ses, playing traditional and modern folk music of Turkey and beyond.
SeaMuse will be playing concerts in Seattle, Lopez Island and Bellingham. They will perform at Lopez Center on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 for dults and $6 for youth (6–17), kids 5 and under free, and are available from Paper Scissors on the Rock, Lopez Book Shop, Blossom Organic Grocery, Lopez Center office and www.lopezcenter.org.
