Wingate University - Main
MyGate
Index
Search
Major in a Great Life
Academics
Admissions
Athletics
Alumni & Friends
Campus Life
About Wingate
Give Now
Parents
About Wingate
Campus Map
History
Mission
Media
Batte Center
WU Facts
Wingate Faces
News
Calendar
Directions and Map
Speaker Bureau
Meet our President
Employment at Wingate
Media Library
Commencement
News
Back to News Articles
The Gathering’s all-star string band serves up Appalachian holiday treat at Wingate University
12/4/2012
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Kim Williams
Communications Writer
k.williams@wingate.edu 704-233-8320
Wingate, N.C. – Americana music talents Laurelyn Dossett, Rhiannon Giddens (of the Carolina Chocolate Drops), Mike Compton, Joe Newberry and Jason Sypher breathe new life into traditional Christmas music and introduce fresh songs of the season in the regional premier of “The Gathering” at Wingate University’s McGee Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 at 4 p.m.
"The Gathering" is a true collaboration of singers, instrumentalists and songwriters from a variety of traditional music backgrounds. Featuring crystalline harmonies backed by an all-star string band, the show is centered around "The Gathering: A Winter's Tale in Six Songs," an Appalachian song cycle written by Dossett. Other highlights include Compton singing John Hartford's "On Christmas Eve," Giddens and Sypher doing "O Holy Night" which made USA TODAY’s Top 10 holiday recordings of 2011 and Newberry’s new holiday hymn “On This Christmas Day.”
In 2011, “The Gathering” was released on CD to much acclaim. “Collections of Appalachian holiday tunes have come along before, but one of the finest is now ‘The Gathering,’” said the Chicago Sun-Times. The Wall Street Journal proclaimed “It’s what the holidays were before shopping and Irving Berlin.”
The project started when North Carolina singer/songwriter Laurelyn Dossett was commissioned by the North Carolina Symphony to write a holiday song cycle for voice, string band and symphony. Dossett is a founding member of Polecat Creek, performing on stages from Merlefest to Prairie Home Companion. Her song "Anna Lee" was featured on Levon Helm's Grammy-winning record Dirt Farmer. Her song "Leaving Eden" is the title track on the upcoming 2012 release by the Carolina Chocolate Drops. www.laurelyndossett.com
A truly diverse vocalist and instrumentalist, Rhiannon Giddens is a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops (CCD). Giddens is best known for her work with the CCDs, but she sings and plays a wide range of traditional music styles including Celtic, jazz, Appalachian ballads, art songs and opera. Fiddler and singer for "The Gathering," Giddens sings lead and duet vocals throughout the show. www.carolinachocolatedrops.com
Mike Compton, a master of Bill Monroe-style mandolin, is best known for his years of work with the Grammy-winning Nashville Bluegrass Band. He played in John Hartford's band until 2001, later toured with David Grier, recording a duet album which was nominated for Album of the Year by the IBMA in 1992. Compton also received Grammy Award acknowledgement for Album of the Year and Best Compilation Soundtrack Album, playing the mandolin on “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” and Best Traditional Folk Album for “Down from the Mountain.” Compton spent much of 2010 touring with Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes. www.mikecompton.net
Joe Newberry is a Missouri native and North Carolina transplant who has played music most of his life. Best known for his powerful and innovative banjo playing, he is a prizewinning guitarist, fiddler and singer. www.reverbnation.com/joenewberry
Bassist Jason Sypher is an innovative interpreter of numerous folk idioms and jazz. He has recorded and performed with luminaries of jazz and blues such as Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Irma Thomas, Little Freddie King, Ernie Kato and Kermit Ruffins.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students and can be purchased online at battecenter.org or by calling the Batte Center Box Office at 704-233-8300 or Carolina Tix at 704-372-1000. To learn more about The Gathering, visit http://gatheringsongs.com/ .
The Batte Center
Opened in 1999, the George A. Batte, Jr. Fine Arts Center presents events in the McGee Theatre, Plyer-Griffin Recital Hall and Austin Auditorium. Located just a short five minute drive from Monroe, The Batte is just 2 blocks off of Highway 74 and only 30 miles east of Charlotte. Free parking is plentiful and all three performance spaces offer full wheelchair accessibility.
Wingate University
Wingate University, ranked as the 6th "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves nearly 2,700 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy and education. With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life.
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past six years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.