CAST to host Simple Gifts
Simple Gifts, composed of Linda Littleton and Karen Hirshon, will present a concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, at the Clearfield Arts Studio Theatre in downtown Clearfield. — Courtesy photo
Fundraising concert will feature fiddles, mandolin, hammered dulcimer and more
The Clearfield Arts Studio Theatre Inc. will host Simple Gifts at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23.
The duo is composed of founding member Linda Littleton, who began her musical studies with classical violin lessons at age seven. Over the years, she has studied with Joanne Zagst Feldman, Ray Montoni, and Geoffrey Michaels.
As a student at Princeton University, Littleton majored in philosophy, with a minor in music and a specialty of Philosophy of Music. She has a strong background as a classical violinist, having served as Principal Second Violin in the Nittany Valley Symphony. In addition to violin, Littleton plays hammered dulcimer, bowed psaltery, 5-string banjo, and recorders.
Littleton is joined on stage by Karen Hirshon, who was raised in a family that emphasized church music, and she grew up singing and easily harmonizing hymns.
At age 10, she began violin lessons, and three years later, her fascination with blues and American folk music led her to study folk guitar.
As a student at Grinnell College in Iowa, Hirshon designed her own specialty “Traditional Music in American Culture” within the field of American Studies, combining history, anthropology and music.
She studied and was influenced by ragtime, classical, American string band music, African drumming, blues, gospel and jazz. During the 1970s, Hirshon toured nationally with the bluegrass band Whetstone Run and helped found the American old-time group, Rustical Quality String Band, with which she has released two albums. Over the years, she has picked up baritone fiddle, mandolin, banjolin, banjo-guitar, and a variety of percussion instruments.
The two women will offer an afternoon of unforgettable music as they perform a wide variety of folk music from Irish jigs and American reels to Klezmer, Gypsy melodies and Balkan dance tunes, blending international styles with American roots.
The duo’s performances feature fiddles, mandolin, hammered dulcimer, recorders, banjo, guitar, and unusual instruments like the bowed psaltery, baritone fiddle, shruti box, banjolin, guitjo and doumbek.
Tickets are $15 and available online at www.ClearfieldArts.org, at the CAST office Thursdays from 5 to 6 p.m., or at the door 30 minutes before the show.
During intermission, popcorn, candy and other refreshments will be available for a donation to benefit the CAST Scholarship Fund, and the musicians will sell CDs and merchandise.
Simple Gifts has performed throughout the Mid-Atlantic, including the Smithsonian, Longwood Gardens, Philadelphia Folk Festival and Hershey Theatre, and has opened for Natalie MacMaster, Tom Paxton, John McCutcheon, and more.
Their six albums include Crossing Borders: Music of Many Lands, winner of a national Indie Acoustic award, and Time and Again, which earned a bronze star in the Crossroads Music Awards.
CAST is a nonprofit arts center at 112 E. Locust St. in the heart of downtown Clearfield. For more information, visit www.ClearfieldArts.org or call 814-765-4474. CAST can also be found on Facebook and Instagram.