New Amsterdam String Band
By Gina Malone
The new Asheville-based concert series, Rosette Chamber Concerts, and the Asheville Music School (AMS) are partnering to host the New Amsterdam String Band for the presentation of an Old-Time Tune Workshop as well as two public concerts the weekend of August 7–9. The event will launch the inaugural season of Rosette Chamber Concerts, which seeks to bring Baroque music to small venues throughout the Asheville area.
An Asheville native with deep roots in the area, Jessica Honigberg, director and founder of Rosette Chamber Concerts, moved back to the area a year ago with her husband Steve Honigberg, recently retired as a cellist with the National Symphony Orchestra. “Baroque music captures the whole range of human emotions—sometimes it is uplifting; sometimes it is in sympathy with us in our difficult times,” she says. “I want to bring this exquisite music to Asheville audiences, and a weekend of events with the New Amsterdam String Band is the perfect way to launch Rosette, because this group of talented young musicians link Baroque musical training with our beloved Appalachian traditions.”
Jimmy Drancsak is a violinist and fiddle player, and co-founder of the New Amsterdam String Band. “Baroque music and traditional American music may seem distant from each other,” he says. “American music is based on community music-making. It is music that is meant to be shared together, by everyone, anywhere. What we call ‘Baroque’ music was largely written for courts and religious settings. But in fact they share many common roots and elements. As performers with extensive training in music of the Baroque era, we are excited for the opportunity to share our own approach to traditional Appalachian music in Asheville, which has such a long and rich tradition of community music-making.”
AMS students will be among those participating in the Old-Time Tune Workshop at AyurPrana Listening Room on Friday, August 7, from 4:30–6 p.m. Musicians of all ages and abilities are invited to bring an instrument to the workshop which will be taught by members of the ensemble. Participants will learn to play “Squirrel Hunters,” a classic Old-Time tune of the southern mountains.
On Sunday, August 9, the New Amsterdam String Band will hold two concerts open to the public. Crossing Strings, highlighting connections between Baroque dance music and traditional Appalachian tunes, will be held at 2 p.m. at the Giles Chapel at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Center. Tickets are $18 for the public and $12 for Deerfield residents.
At 6:30 p.m. in the Asheville Art Museum Atrium, New Amsterdam will present Tunes from the Heartland, with a program of music that explores the European ancestry of Appalachian and bluegrass music. Tickets are $25 for the public and $22 for Asheville Art Museum members.
Ryan Reardon, executive director of AMS, welcomes this experience for music students. “This is a chance for students to learn more about this region’s cultural and musical history: where it came from, how the present relates to the past and where it might be going,” he says. “Serious classically-based musicians taking a deep dive into Appalachia tells you something about the importance of this area’s music traditions.”
Admission to the Old-Time Tune Workshop is $8. Students and one accompanying parent or chaperone are admitted free. Reserve space by emailing rosette.asheville@gmail.com. AyurPrana Listening Room is located at 312 Haywood Road, West Asheville. Learn more at RosetteChamberConcerts.org and AshevilleMusicSchool.org.
