On Sunday, June 12 at 7:00 PM the Monadnock Folklore Society will present a concert with Ari & Mia, Boston’s Americana sister act at the Nelson Town Hall. Admission is $12/$9(senior, student, or in advance). Referencing the traditions of Southern and Northeastern fiddle music and the early American songbook Ari and Mia create a realm where their own compositions cross paths with older traditions.
Their stylish and sophisticated music honors the sounds of Appalachian cottages, rural dance floors, and urban concert halls. Combine this with their innovative approach to song and tune-writing and the result is a fresh and contemporary sound.
Ari & Mia “blend a traditional rootsy grounding with a clear background of classical training. Their own works are soothing and fresh, tasteful and accomplished. This duo is taking the classical study of a conservatory program and bringing it alive in folk touring circles,’ says SingOut! Magazine. Both sisters studied at Boston’s New England Conservatory in its cutting edge Contemporary Improvisation department. Their newest album, Unruly Heart, ranked high on the national folk radio charts for 2011 and Mia’s song “Across the Water,” won the 2010 John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the folk category. Their new album, Land on Shore, was released in May 2013.
Ariel Friedman, a classically trained cellist from the Boston area, is one of few musicians to be challenging the boundaries of cello-playing. She graduated from Northwestern University in 2008 where she studied cello performance with Hans Jorgen Jensen, and received a masters of music in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory in 2011. A winner of ASTA’s 2009 Alternative Styles Award, she is in current exploration of American roots traditions, early jazz, a range of classical repertoire, and in composing songs and pieces influenced by her diverse musical tastes. She tours internationally with Scottish National Fiddle champion Hanneke Cassel, plays with New England’s highly acclaimed fiddle band, Childsplay, and has taught at music camps and programs from New England to New Zealand.
Mia Friedman began playing violin and singing at an early age. She is largely influenced by American roots music and old-time Appalachian traditions, and blends this with contemporary experimental music in her compositions. She graduated from New England Conservatory in 2012 where she studied with Anthony Coleman, Carla Kihlstedt, and Hankus Netsky, and is an active composer, performer, and educator. Her song “Across the Water” won the 2011 John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the folk category. She tours around the United States with Ari and has her own solo act.
