Pictured is Joanne Shenandoah
“Joanne Shenandoah is one of the finest tributes to Native American Music and Culture.” Neil Young
(Hamilton, NY – Sept. 2013) A Concert of Peace, Hope, and Dreams showcases Joanne Shenandoah with the smooth, rich harmonies of Leah and Diane Shenandoah (Oneida Iroquois from Central New York) Saturday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. at The Palace Theater.
Performing more than 20 years, these three women have raised cultural awareness and inspired hope and peace throughout the world with their music.
Joanne Shenandoah has one of the most unique voices in American music; a warm instrument that permeates your heart with its gentle soulful tone. She is one of America’s most celebrated and critically acclaimed musicians, and a Grammy Award winner, with over 40 music awards (13 Native American Music awards).
Joanne sings lead vocals, and plays guitar, flute and rattles; Leah sings back up and lead vocals and plays rattles; and Diane sings back up and plays rattles and the drum.
Some of the songs during the concert will be performed in her traditional Native tongue and explained thoroughly so the audience is lifted to a place of celebration. Most songs combine stories, cultural beliefs and environmental messages of the Iroquois.
“I never actually prepare a song list for a concert; as I really like to sing as the spirit moves me,” said Joanne Shenandoah.
Some of her songs include Mother Earth Speaks, Women’s Traditional Song, Hiawatha, Prophecy Song, Dancing on Mother Earth, She Sings – Tekaliwah Kwah, Rabbit Dance, I Feel Your Love, Watch Me Through the Night, and Eagle Cries.
Many of Joanne’s original traditional and contemporary compositions have been heard on popular television shows and documentaries seen on HBO, Discovery, CBS and PBS.
Joanne and Leah recorded Path to Zero with Jim Morrison, which included Sting/Bono, Sinead O’Conner, and Robert Downey Jr.
Joanne recently performed for His Holiness the Dali Lama, and at St. Peter’s at the Vatican in Italy where she performed an original composition for the celebration for the canonization of the first Native American Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.
She has performed at prestigious events at The White House, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Crystal Bridges Museum, The NMAI-Smithsonian, The Ordway Theater, Hummingbird Centre, Toronto Skydome, The Parliament of the World’s Religions, (Africa, Spain and Australia) and Woodstock ‘94.
Before attending the concert, take a moment on Sept. 28, 3-7:30pm to visit the art exhibit Leah Shenandoah: O’whahsa’ – Protection, Comfort, Healing at the Longyear Museum, Alumni Hall, second floor, Colgate University.
Additional viewing times are now until to Nov. 1, Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Leah, an emerging artist of the Oneida Nation (Wolf Clan), explores the concept of the hood (O’whahsa’ in Oneida language) as a metaphor for protection, comfort, and healing. The work included in this exhibition includes three-dimensional textile sculptures, wearable textile art and jewelry, and the artist’s own interpretations of feathered smudging tools, widely used as a Native American healing device.
Visit www.palacetheater.org or call 315.824.1420 to learn more all of the season’s shows.