SAXTONS RIVER — Four veteran area singers will celebrate their common passion for a cappella harmony when Big Woods Voices performs at Main Street Arts on Friday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m.
The singers are soprano Amanda Witman, co-leader of the Brattleboro Pub Sing with Tony Barrand; alto Becky Graber, leader of the Brattleboro Women's Chorus and Animaterra Women's Chorus in Keene; tenor Will Danforth, singer-songwriter and traditional acoustic artist; and bass Alan Blood, long-time member of countless area groups, including the Blanche Moyse Chorale, I Cantori, Blue Moon, and House Blend.
According to a news release, Big Woods Voices is the fulfillment of a creative transition for Danforth from his life as a roots-oriented songster to that of composer/arranger, marrying two loves: his love of American roots music and his love of the vast harmonic palette absorbed while singing with the a cappella world music chorus The River Singers.
The results are lyrical settings of poetry by David Whyte, Mary Oliver, W.B. Yeats and others; richly-harmonized standards of the American roots lexicon; and completely original compositions. Pieces by musicians such as Pete Sutherland, The Finest Kind, and Lambert, Hendricks and Ross add up to “an ear-thrilling experience,” the release said.