Art Beat
September 2007

New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music

The Kirtland Cutter Gallery in the Cutter Theatre will be the site of the Smithsonian's touring exhibit, "New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music" from September 7 through October 21, 2007. The Cutter Theatre was chosen, along with five other facilities, to host the Smithsonian project by Humanities Washington. New Harmonies is one of several touring museum exhibits that are part of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the Federation of State Humanities Councils' "Museums on Main Street" project. The Cutter Theatre is one of six Washington State sites, including the Cowlitz County Historical Museum in Kelso, the Fort Walla Walla Museum, the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center, the Museum of Snohomish County History in Everett, and the Ilwaco Heritage Museum. Unlike the other five sites, which are museums, the Cutter Theatre's emphasis on culture and the arts make it a unique choice for the Smithsonian program, which brings the Smithsonian to small or rural communities throughout the United States.

The Cutter Theatre's project coordinator, Tara Leininger, has attended three workshops. The first, at the Humanities Washington offices in Seattle, introduced the New Harmonies project to the host facilities, with information on the Smithsonian, "Museums on Main Street", and specifics on the project itself. The second workshop was in Kelso to learn how the exhibit is physically set up, with the final workshop in July of 2007 for the site coordinators to share what has been happening thus far at the first three sites and what the last three sites might experience.

Special concerts, lectures and educational programs will be scheduled not only during the six-week museum exhibit, but the theme of American Roots Music will be part of much of the Cutter's programming during the 2007 season. In exploring America's musical roots, the Cutter started its series last March with the Barra MacNeils (Acadian), The Santa Cruz River Band (Mexico) in April, soprano Erika Wueschner (European Opera) in May, Realtime Barbershop in June, and Wiley and the Wild West Band (Cowboy) in August. A lecture by Brian Pertl will follow in September with "American Roots Music: A Sonic Adventure of Continental Proportions" and Bearfoot (Bluegrass) in October. Donivan Johnson, music educator for the Selkirk School District, will also be working with the Cutter Theatre on special concerts and educational outreaches with Selkirk students and the community with an October show "How Can I Help from Singing" on stage at the Cutter along with other projects during the year.

The museum exhibit features a series of free-standing kiosks, each with a theme on American Roots music, including the music of the Native Americans, African, Appalachian, and country music to name a few. The kiosks provide audio examples as well as the visual displays.

The Kirtland Cutter Gallery is located on the upper floor of the Cutter Theatre building at 302 Park St., Metaline Falls, WA. It is open from 9 am to 5 pm daily, Monday through Friday and from 10 am to 3 pm on the second and fourth Saturdays. Admission is free. Information call 509-446-4108.

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The North Columbia Monthly provides news, views, humor and a calendar of events for an area that stretches from Nelson in British Columbia south to Spokane in Washington State and covers all points in between. A free (and free-thinking, progressive) magazine, The Monthly is available at several hundred spots throughout the region and now is also available on-line at www.ncmonthly.com. Published once a month since 1994, The Monthly is an independent magazine that often challenges contemporary wisdom by encouraging critical thinking about issues and attitudes in the region and beyond.

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