About
Atwater-Donnelly
Traditional American
and Celtic Folk Music and Dance
"To those who...deny the human spirit, I
give you these chroniclers of its joys and sorrows, light
and dark, hope and despair and say that they have but
liberated what is in us all. Their dancing notes say,
'Here it is! Humanity's real self. Look!
Isn't it wondrous?"--From "The Folk Singers" by
Philip R. Pearson, Jr. in his book Poetry is to be
Consumed, Vantage Press, New York
"Atwater-Donnelly are marvelous
musicians. Their voices blend beautifully, their
instrumental work is sparkling, and they are captivating
performers. I could listen to them for
hours."--Frank Dudgeon, WUMB, Boston, MA
Award-winning, internationally recognized
folk duo, Aubrey Atwater and Elwood Donnelly present
delightful programs of traditional American and Celtic folk
songs, a capella pieces, hymns, dance tunes, and original
works. Elwood and Aubrey blend gorgeous and unusual
harmonies and play guitar, mountain dulcimer, mandolin, tin
whistle, harmonica, banjo, bones, spoons, limberjacks, and
other surprises including Appalachian clogging and French
Canadian footwork. Their performances appeal to all
ages, and with humor, audience participation, and a relaxed
stage presence, Aubrey and Elwood explain song origins to
create deeper understanding of the music and its cultural
history. With their extensive repertoire, special
programs and workshops are available for festivals,
schools, colleges, libraries, cultural series, and
holidays.
Aubrey and Elwood are at times joined by up to five
additional band members: Cathy Clasper-Torch on fiddle,
cello, and vocals, adds a deeply rich third dimension and
Kevin Doyle, a U.S. Champion Irish step-dancer, adds an
exhilarating level of excitement to the Atwater-Donnelly
look and sound. The full band is known as Jerimoth
Hill and includes Cathy and Kevin as well as award-winning
musician Heidi Cerrigione on autoharp and vocals, John
Cerrigione on stand-up bass and vocals, and Uriah Donnelly
on keyboard, guitar, and vocals. Jerimoth Hill's 2007
release “The Halfway Ground” won “Album
of the Year” in Motif Magazine's music awards and the
band won “Best Act” in the Americana category
in 2008. More recently, Atwater-Donnelly and these
five musicians have completed a beautiful CD/songbook of
Celtic and American songs and ballads called The Weaver's
Bonny.
Self-taught musicians, Aubrey and Elwood met as volunteers
at the Stone Soup Coffeehouse in Providence in 1987 and
quickly formed a duo. Married since 1989, they
perform widely in the US and abroad and their eleven
recordings receive international airplay. Highlights
include airplay on NPR's "All Things Considered," Fiona
Ritchie's "Thistle and Shamrock," and the nationally
syndicated "Midnight Special" out of Chicago. Atwater
and Donnelly have performed and researched traditional folk
music and dance extensively in Ireland, England, Prince
Edward Island, New England, the Ozarks, Appalachia, and
other key places in the United States. They have
performed or shared festival billing with folk legends Jean
Ritchie, Pete Seeger, and Doc Watson. During trips to
festivals and camps such as the Hindman Settlement School
in Eastern Kentucky, the Augusta Heritage Center in West
Virginia, the Old Songs Festival in New York, the Ozark
Folk Center in Arkansas, the Swannanoa Gathering and the
John C. Campbell Folk School in western North Carolina,
Aubrey and Elwood have taught classes, studied with
traditional musicians and folklorists, played and called
dances, appeared on television, and received standing
ovations for their concerts. In addition to eleven
recordings, Aubrey and Elwood have produced three books of
poetry and three song books and the duo is part of more
than twenty compilation CDs as well as numerous recordings
of other musicians.
For more information, please
contact: 19 Walker Road , Foster, RI
02825 (401) 392-1909
www.atwater-donnelly.com