When we sat down to
write the “about us” portion of our
site, we started to think about all we’ve studied, and the
numerous different
styles of music we have sung over the years. However, we
didn’t want this
to be a laundry list of what, when and where we’ve sung.
It
might be relevant to mention that we went to school and met at
UW-Green
Bay. It
may seem more than a side note
to say we were married in 1998 and then moved to Chicago. Both of us are
music teachers,
Andrew in Melrose Park and Angie at Northeastern Illinois
University,
where we both received our Master’s Degrees. Some may
even wonder what
kind of music we have sung. We could tell them everything,
from opera
and oratorio to pop and jazz. But after our time studying the
more serious
aspects of music, we have again found our love for performing
American Folk
Music.
We have
come back to our roots – literally. I think you would be hard
pressed to find a
single American who hasn’t heard a Bluegrass
tune that made them smile, or a folk ballad that brought a
tear to their eye.
When you spend years in the University system, you tend to be
pointed in the
direction of what is considered “serious” music. On the
whole “Folk
Music” does not fall into this category.
After
spending countless hours on thesis projects based around the
classical
side of American Folk Music, (think Aaron Copland, Samuel
Barber, Harry
Burleigh and John Jacob Niles) we also started to find an
amazing folk
culture. Folk music may not be as harmonically complex
as Dvorak’s New
World Symphony, but simple it is not. This music speaks to the
truest, purest
part of America.
The music is as complex and riveting as we are. It speaks to
all of us. The
people who this country was built upon have amazing stories.
They told stories
of life and death, love and heartbreak, church and family,
through their music.
Being
able to share and enjoy that rich history with you is our
passion. We
hope you will enjoy the journey.