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A MUSICAL DISCOVERY OF 18TH CENTURY AMERICA Broadsides, ballads, love songs and humorous ditties are accompanied by Linda's instrumentals as she tells the stories of everyday life in early America. Included are such songs as "Johnnie's Gone for a Soldier", "Soldier, Soldier, Will You Marry Me" and George Washington's favorite dance tune!
19TH CENTURY NEW YORK STATE IN SONG AND STORY Linda explores the life of rural New York State through the music of farmers, canal boatmen and lumberjacks, as well as the popular songs of parlor and porch. This program can be adapted to the history of any state.
SONGS OF THE CIVIL WAR Students will hear the recruiting song that urged young men to sign up to fight, the anthems that inspired them and the musical complaints about the food and conditions they endured such as "Army Beans" "Hard Crackers, Come Again No More" and "Goober Peas". Included also are the ballads about the yearning for home and the loved ones left behind.
THE ERIE CANAL ERA IN SONG An exploration of the songs that built the canal as sung by the diggers, boatmen and people that celebrated on the banks of “Clinton's Ditch!”
WESTWARD HO! Music accompanied the pioneers on their trek to the Promised Land. This presentation highlights the minstrel melodies, hymns, humorous ditties, dance tunes and parlor ballads that soothed, entertained and inspired the travellers on their harrowing journey.
As well as…
SONGS OF THE HISTORIC HUDSONThe story of the Hudson River as seen through the songs that reflected life in the Hudson Valley throughout its history. Included are songs of the Revolution, of Erie canal boatmen and sailors, of steamboats and lost love.
AMERICAN CAMPAIGN SONGSLinda takes you on a romp through elections past as you hear the ditties that inspired Americans to vote. She sings gems like Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too, Get on the Raft With Taft and I Like Ike.
SONGS OF NATURE AND THE LANDThe music of America’s past reveals our changing relationship with nature, from 18th century ballads where poetic imagery of birds and flowers carried the day to the 19th songs with their vivid depictions of lumberjacks, miners and farmers facing the daily rigors of working the land.
SONGS OF WORK and THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONThis show follows the evolution of technology from the late 18th Century to the 19th Century as seen on the songs of farmers, cobblers, canallers and railroad men.
Linda has presented workshops and residencies in conjunction with a variety of ARTS-IN-EDUCATION organizations such as:
Musical Views -The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Arts Horizons, State of New York and New Jersey Westchester Arts Council Roster, Westchester County, New York The Society for Long Island Antiquities, Long Island, NY Symphony Space - Curriculum Arts Project, New York City
A recent review…
“Using a variety of traditional instruments and songs that span America’s history, Linda has given students, many of whom have only recently arrived in this country, a visceral sense of how these people of long ago felt, about war, hard time, joyful times… it brings the dates, events, famous names, and issues written in the textbooks to life. The music she present in class is often brand new to many of these students and they are delighted by it. “
“A fourth grade teacher from Queens remarked “Fifty minutes is just not enough. Linda was superb and kept my children’s attention. Not only is she talented, but was also good with children! She is a wonderful teacher.”
“ Her sensitivity to children, her ability to really listen to them and her generosity of spirit makes them feel included, special and inspired. I intentionally send her to the toughest schools because those students, whose lives are so difficult and chaotic, need her and her music. Any program that is interested in the arts, America’s culture, and education do no better than to hire Linda Russell.”
Madeline Cohen Education Director Symphony Space New York, NY |
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Students and Teachers alike will delight in 200 Years of American Song ! |
