Two concerts this weekend

Alright, for the last time on the blog I’m going to plug the Susan Alcorn/Misha Feigin show at Twist, and I also thought I’d pass on info on a concert by a Ukrainian mandolinist and fiddler organized by the Global Education Center.

I’ve got a note on Susan and Misha’s show under my previous post. Read Michael Anton Parker’s description there. I think Susan has achieved something remarkable in absorbing many kinds of music and turning them into something completely organic and integrated, going down to some essence that unites music across styles, nations, eras. Too often someone interested in so many sounds ends up “borrowing” the music, or creating an unlovely pastiche. Not so with Susan. The music is intense, like a reduction in cooking.

The show will be from 3-6 at Twist Gallery in the Arcade. We’re going to ask a suggested admissions of $6-10. I would expect things to get going pretty soon after 3:00. Susan and Misha are both going to play solo sets, they’ll play together, and me and Brady Sharp may or may not play.

Just today I got a notice from Monica Cooley about a concert that the Global Education Center is holding at West Nashville United Methodist Church on Charlotte—Ukrainian mandolin and fiddle player Peter Ostroushko. I’ll paste their notice below. If you haven’t had enough former Soviet bloc string players after Saturday, here’s a second dose. It looks good, though pretty different from Susan and Misha.

Peter Ostroushko in Concert
Sunday, january 20 - 7:30 pm
at West Nashville United Methodist Church
Tickets: $20 adults; $15 students and seniors
Tickets are available at the Global Education Center, 4822 Charlotte Avenue
Information at 292-3023; globaleducationcenter@juno.com;

The Global Education Center, in partnership with West Nashville United Methodist Church, is excited to continue its acoustic music series in an intimate evening with Peter Ostroushko, widely regarded as one of the finest mandolin and fiddle players in acoustic music today. His tours have taken him to the stages of clubs, performing arts centers, music festivals and theatres across North America and Europe, and he has earned an international reputation as a versatile and dazzling master of instrumentation and composition.

In this particular concert, he will be accompanied by Arkadiy Yushin on guitar. The duo will share their most passionate music - a rich ethnic mix of their Ukrainian heritage and the acoustic sounds that Peter has made popular on shows such as Prairie Home Companion and Austin City Limits. Ostroushko, whose resume is dizzying in size and scope, has played with orchestras throughout the United States and on shows as diverse as The David Letterman Show and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. An honored first generation hero among the Ukrainian communities of North America, Peter promises a folksy and welcoming experience for all.