Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!
I posted this recording, after re-locating the album in my collection. I was mesmerized, not only by the choirs and orchestra – of which I was a member, but by Dr. Vernon Yenne’s performance. Dr. Yenne has been my voice teacher, conducting mentor, and friend for decades, and I would like many to hear what he was able to do in his prime. What a voice!!
We had the honor and privilege of hosting a house concert for Andy McKee and Masa Sumide in March of 2007. Andy we knew from The Walnut Valley Festival, and The Harp Guitar Gathering, but we had never met Masa. It was a wondrous evening, well-attended, and Andy and Masa made new fans and friends.
As Jaquie says on her web site, she “incorporates melodic two hand tapping and percussion techniques into more or less traditional fingerstyle playing. This technique is sometimes referred to as “Touche Guitare“.
I had not been exposed to real Western music until I ran into Bill at The Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield. Bill is a true Western singer. He is from Colorado, and is The VOICE of Encore television’s Westerns Channel. Bill has won award after award, which you can read about on his web site.
Bill Barwick and bass player, Steve McCartney were kind enough to do a benefit concert PWGI hosted to help raise funds for Valley Center’s Equine Rescue and Sanctuary, Hope In The Valley.
PWGI helped Andy McKee book concerts for a bit (at his request) before he hit the very big time. He also played a house concert at our house with Masa Sumide, which was a real treat.
This video was taken one night when Fistful of Nickels was playing at The Port of Wichita. Joe Worrel was out of town, so this performance is without his talent. This tune is familiar to most, but Jeremiah and the guys have a way of bringing the meaning to life, once again.
Please help to send Billie to the 2012 Music for Healing & Transition Program International Conference in Arden, North Carolina!
Billie received the first scholarship ever awarded through Wesley Medical Center in Wichita to become a Certified Music Practitioner. This certification is earned through Music for Healing and Transition.
Music For Healing and Transition is a National Educational Certification Program Preparing Musicians to Provide Live, Theraputic Music at the Bedside.
One idea Billie had in the beginning was to help her nephew, Jeremiah Johnsen, of Fistful of Nickels, get his acoustic career off the ground. Billie wanted to help him record a CD, and get it manufactured and out, so he could go on tour and start making a living doing what he loves. Thankfully, she was able to raise funds to do exactly that. He spent years touring several states
Billie has a huge list of dreams for this organization. Already, PWGI has brought internationally known acoustic artists to town – Stephen Bennett, Andy McKee, Masa Sumide, Dan LaVoie, Thomas Leeb, Bill Barwick – and has hosted concerts at The Orpheum, The Artichoke, Mosley Street Melodrama, and Billie’s house. To further the mission, she plans to bring in Antsy McClain, Jaquie Gipson, and more incredible artists, as she finds them. Your gift will make this possible.
Singing is a community building activity, too. Billie plans for people to be a part of PWGI’s choral music community. Her plan is to build up the hearts, minds and spirits of the community as a whole by bringing in Bobby McFerrin – solo artist, musicial genius, and conductor – to present a concert utilizing area musicians in a Requiem he will conduct. She has been in contact with Bobby’s management, and they say he is able and willing – all they need to do is raise $50,000!!! Your contribution will help make this a reality.
One additional opportunity came to Billie after she heard an interview on NPR with Dr. Oliver Sacks, a neurologist who wrote the book, Musicophilia. She began to consider music therapy as an option, especially because music had been such a healing force in her life. Soon after the thought entered her mind, she received the first scholarship ever awarded through Wesley Medical Center in Wichita to become what is called a Certified Music Practitioner. This certification is earned through Music for Healing and Transition. Not long after Billie began her training, she was able to play guitar for her sister, Lynn, who had been admitted to Wesley Medical Center with a relapse of Lymphoma. Sadly Lynn has passed, but Billie will always have the memory of playing at her bedside, and know that she was able to bring music to the one who taught her to play guitar. It is her goal to do the same for others. Your contributions will help her pay for expenses to get the training Wesley has financed.
Billie is very adamant about PWGI remaining an all-inclusive entity. She wants people to participate because they believe in the mission, not because benefits are held back unless people become members. This is NOT a membership organization. Any good PWGI can do is for those who get what music is and does. It really is that simple.
More projects are listed on the home page, and the list will, indeed, keep growing. If you have questions or thoughts, please feel free to contact Billie at pwgi@cox.net. And if you are able, please donate any amount you can to further the mission. PWGI is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation, so all donations are tax deductible.
Billie Fredholm
Founder and Executive Director
People Who GET It, Inc.
Fed. ID14-1863657
