History through Music

jazzer — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:34:37 +0000

Presenting songs from this country’s earliest days through the 20th century, musician and story teller David DiGiuseppe offers history lessons with a musical twist. His curriculum reinforcing presentations are fun and informative–integrating history, geography, folklore and music.

His unique programs celebrate the rich heritage of American culture and tradition. DiGiuseppe introduces students to numerous instruments, including banjo, Appalachian dulcimer, Irish cittern, concertina, accordion and guitar.

A study guide for teachers is also offered.

DiGiuseppe extends to his audience a heartfelt and fiery performance, combining powerful songs with stimulating tales of times past.

Available programs include:

THE OLD NORTH STATE
North Carolina History in Song and Story
[For grades 2-6; 45-60 minutes; classroom to auditorium.] Weaving songs with historical tales of North Carolina, this musical journey explores: Scots-Irish and Appalachian culture; the Edenton Tea Party and colonial times; spirituals, the blues and African-American music; the state’s first railroad; textile mills and industrialization.

THE PALMETTO STATE
Songs and Stories of South Carolina
[For grades 2-6; 45-60 minutes; classroom to auditorium.] Presenting songs and stories from South Carolina’s earliest days, this entertaining and informative musical journey explores: the Charles Town Settlement; early Europeans and Africans inhabitants; South Carolina and the American Revolution, slavery, spirituals and the blues; transportation and the state’s first railroad, cotton and other crops, textile mills and industrialization.

LORE OF THE LAND
Songs of America’s Past
[For grades 2-6; 45-60 minutes; classroom to auditorium.] Tracing the growth of the United States, DiGiuseppe chronicles: the settling of Appalachia; the Sons of Liberty and the American Revolution; work songs of American sailors; slavery, spirituals and the blues; westward migration, the 49ers and cowboys; railroads and industrialization.

PADDY WORKS ON THE RAILWAY
Celtic Music and its American Connection
[For grades 2-6; 45-60 minutes; classroom to auditorium.] Since the international acclaim of the production Riverdance, Irish music and dance has gained recognition and popularity in America. Paddy Works on the Railway draws upon this interest in its examination of the Celtic-American cultural connection. (Note — for this purpose, “Celtic” includes both Irish and Scottish people.)

The program explores the following:

1. Scots-Irish emigration — Between 1720 and the early 1800s, Scottish and Scots-Irish migration impacted the northeast and southern United States, affecting local language and music in ways still felt today.

2. Irish in America –The Irish famine between 1846 and 1850 forced over one and a half million people to leave their homeland and come to the New World. These immigrants found themselves at the bottom of the economic ladder, facing prejudice and poverty. They did however, find work building the railroads.

3. Celtic traditional ballads– Scottish and Irish ballads reach back to the 16th Century. Preserved through the oral tradition, and brought to the New World via immigration, they are still sung today in both the “old countries” and in America.

4. Irish-influenced American music — Irish songs, singers and songwriters have been integral to the American stage and popular music, from burlesque and vaudeville to Tin Pan Alley and today’s pop music.

5. Dance music forms — Jigs, reels, polkas and hornpipes, each with a distinctive rhythmic feel, are the core of Irish instrumental dance music.

With over 20 years of experience as a professional performer, David DiGiuseppe is widely recognized for his accomplished musicianship. He has worked extensively in schools throughout the Carolinas for over a decade.He is listed in the following artist directories:
The North Carolina Touring Artist Directory
    North Carolina Arts Council
Artist Profile Directory
    South Carolina Arts Commission
Artist Resource Directory
    United Arts of Raleigh (NC) & Wake County
Artists in Schools Directory
    The Arts Council of Fayetteville
(NC)/Cumberland County
Arts-in-Education Artists Directory
     Asheville (NC) Area Arts Council

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History through Music