Warrensburg, MO. Warrensburg will soon play host to the Smithsonian Institution’s New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music traveling interactive exhibit, part of the Smithsonian’s “Museum on Main Street” program, a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. More than forty communities in Missouri applied through the Missouri Humanities Council to host the event in their town during 2009, and Warrensburg was one of only six to be selected.
The exhibit will be in Warrensburg from October 3 to November 7, 2009, and will be open at the Johnson County Historical Society’s Culp Building at 302 N. Main St. in Warrensburg Tuesdays-Fridays from 1-7 PM, and Saturdays and Sundays from 1-5 PM.
New Harmonies will take participants on a journey through the development of Americans' creative expression through music, known by names like blues, country western, folk ballads, and gospel, exploring the on-going cultural process that has made America the birthplace of more music than any place on earth. The Johnson County Historical Society, in cooperation with the Missouri Humanities Council, will explore this and other aspects of America’s – and Johnson County’s – roots music.
Through a selection of photographs, recordings, instruments, lyrics and artist profiles, New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music will explore the distinct cultural identities of American roots music forms. The exhibition will examine the progression of American roots music, as rich and eclectic as our country itself. Other musical genres profiled include zydeco, tejano, bluegrass and klezmer.
“We are very pleased to be able to bring New Harmonies to our area,” said Lisa Irle, Curator of the Johnson County Historical Society. “It allows us to explore this fascinating aspect of our own region’s musical history and we hope that it will inspire many to become even more involved in the cultural life of our community. We encourage everyone to come play the washboard, sing a song, make an instrument, listen to a choir, and enjoy the many special opportunities to celebrate our own musical heritage here in Warrensburg and Johnson County.”
“Allowing all of our state’s residents to have access to the cultural resources of our nation’s premiere museum is a priority of the Missouri Humanities Council,” said Patricia Zahn, Associate Director. “With this special tour, we are pleased to be working with the Johnson County Historical Society in Warrensburg to help develop local exhibitions and public programs to compliment the Smithsonian exhibition.” Multiple free concerts (from fiddling to hip-hop) films, workshops, tours and more will be happening throughout the five weeks that the exhibit is in Warrensburg. Some highlights are
- Choirs and Sing-a-longs every Sunday at 2 PM in the Old Courthouse, 306 N. Main St.
- Eclectic Café Concert Series every Friday at 7 PM in the Old Courthouse, 306 N. Main St.
- Free instrument-making workshops for kids (Oct. 1 at the Warrensburg Community Center, Oct. 4 and 18 at the Historical Society’s office)
- John Davis plays Blind Boone, Oct. 3 at 7:30 PM, UCM’s Hendricks Hall
- Creole fiddler Dennis Stroughmatt, Oct. 14 in the Old Courthouse, 306 N. Main St.
- Mid-Missouri Artists “New Harmonies” Fine Arts Show, Oct. 17 in the ABC Building, 1416 Commander Dr.
- Roots Music Film Festival on the UCM campus, Oct. 7, 21 and Nov. 4 (all at 6 PM)
- The Nace Brothers, Oct. 31, annual Halloween show at Players Restaurant, 627 E. Russell Ave.
- Grand Finale Concert, Nov. 7 at UCM’s Hendricks Hall
New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music is part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions. To learn more about New Harmonies and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit www.museumonmainstreet.org. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.
SITES connects millions of Americans with their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of art, science and history exhibitions. State humanities councils, located in each state and U.S. territory, support community-based humanities programs that highlight such topics as local history, literature and cultural traditions. The Johnson County Historical Society serves the local community by maintaining a premier research facility specializing in family and local history, and through the preservation and use of the original Johnson County Courthouse. To learn more, visit www.sites.si.edu, www.mohumanities.org and www.jocomohistory.org.
When you stop and listen, you quickly realize that music is all around us -- at a local festival, at a dance hall on a Saturday night, or on your radio or your .mp3 player. Whether you’re hearing blues, country western, folk, or gospel, American roots music reveals the American story – peoples reshaping themselves in a new and changing world. As Americans from a variety of heritages shared cultural influences, musicians found new ways to play unique sounds learned from new neighbors on traditional instruments. The inevitable intermingling of musical influences created exciting new sounds – new American music.
More information about the New Harmonies exhibit in Warrensburg and a full schedule of events is at http://newharmonies.missourihumanities.org/Warrensburg.
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Johnson County Historical Society, 302 N. Main Street, Warrensburg, Missouri, 660-747-6480; regular hours M-F 1-4 PM.
Missouri Humanities Council, 543 Hanley Industrial Court Suite 201, Saint Louis, MO 63144, (314) 781-9660, (800) 357-0909 |