Threlkeld Activities Association is to welcome back the Cumbrian Duo in February for a concert of the old music of Cumberland and Westmorland arranged for classical guitar and harp. This time there will be an additional ‘Cumbrian’ treat in the form of a short recital of some Cumbrian dialect by life-long local Donald Angus.
Ed Heslam and Jean Altshuler are the Cumbrian Duo. Ed is a classical guitarist with a keen interest in the music of Cumberland and Westmorland. Born in Cumberland, he moved away to work in the West Country only to return in 2012. He was Head of Music in a number of West Country schools. His interests in guitar music include classical, renaissance music and folk. Since his return to Cumbria he has been researching the music and history of the area and performing his own arrangements of old Cumbrian tunes copied from the original manuscripts held in local archives. The current on-going project is to arrange old local music for the solo guitar and for guitar/harp duet.
Jean Altshuler is from America, graduating from Oberlin Conservatory on a harp scholarship. She has played with orchestras in Oklahoma and Nashville and also on the country music scene. Since moving to the Lake District, Jean has explored the wealth of Celtic music. She is a founder member of Harps Northwest and teaches the harp. Since meeting Ed, she has enjoyed learning and playing Ed’s arrangements of Cumberland and Westmorland music.
The evening of Cumbrian music and dialect will be in Threlkeld Village Hall, Friday 8th February, 7:30pm. Bar and box office from 7pm. Tickets are £9 (£4.50 under 18s) and can be obtained from the Village Hall Coffee Shop, village PO or on-line at www.threlkeldvillagehall.org/whats-on. Box Office Enquiries 07733 790308.
