Arts Council of Kern : Moira Smiley and VOCO in Kern

California Arts Council
National Endowment for the Arts
Kern County Board of Trade Tourism Bureau and Film Commission

For Email Marketing you can trust

Moira Smiley and VOCO in Kern

Moira Smiley & VOCO, a female ensemble known internationally for its unique cultural blend of voices and instrumentation, will be performing in several Kern communities this May.

The tour, part of the Arts Council of Kern's Musicians' Outreach Project, will be launched with a Mother's Day house concert in Bakersfield, Sunday, May 13, 4:00pm. Seats are $22 general | $20 ACK members (and moms) | $10 students, and may be reserved through the Arts Council, 1330 Truxtun Avenue, Suite B. Upon receiving your reservation, the Arts Council will issue information regarding the specific venue. Call 661-324-9000 for more information.

On Monday the 14^th, the group will visit schools in Delano before heading up the Southern Sierra for an evening community concert in Kernville. Seats are $15, and are limited. Call (760) 549-3697 to make your reservation and receive additional venue information. moira:

On Tuesday, the 15^th, the group will travel to Ridgecrest for more school presentations and a final evening performance in the gallery of the Maturango Museum, 100 East Las Flores Avenue. Tickets are $15 and available at the museum gift shop. Call (760) 375-6900 for more information.

Moira Smiley & VOCO is a visionary blend of voices—redefining harmony singing with the power and physicality of folksong, the avant-garde fearlessness of Bela Bartok and the delicious, vaudevillian accompaniment of cello, banjo, accordion and body percussion. Moira Smiley leads an ensemble of extraordinary musicians who share a passion for spreading powerful, emotional music with lush three- and four-part vocal harmony punctuated with instrumentation. Original work is interwoven with improvisation-built songs steeped in Appalachia and Eastern Europe tradition. The resulting sound is magical.

Named the #1 a cappella group in the U.S. in 2007, VOCO is the energy of street singing and the elegance of a string quartet. Featured in Dirty Linen Magazine and nationwide on NPR's "Harmonia," VOCO is sweet, hard-driving Americana mixed with crooked eastern European dance and dissonance. It's all rounded out with body-stompin' percussive movement and joyous, magnificent, hair-raising harmonies - music that mourns and dances at the same time. Called "a truly phenomenal act" by Folkworks Magazine, "fascinating and multi-lingual" by the LA Times. "Their body percussion sets are a sight to behold!"

Now in its third year, the Musician's Outreach Project is dedicated to bringing top-notch artists who also excel in educational settings to schools throughout Kern County. The program is an extension of the Arts Council's popular House Concert Series, and is sponsored in part by grants from corporations as well as individual donors, which serve as matching funds for schools that would otherwise not be able to afford this type of program.

Print This Page Email This Page