Mon 1/8 - From China To Appalachia - Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer with Chao Tian and special guest Becky Hill

Monday, January 8th Institute of Musical Traditions presents From China To Appalachia - Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer with Chao Tian at 7:30pm. Tickets : $20 advance (+$2 box office fee) / $25 door.

(this show was rescheduled from October - non-refunded tickets will be honoured)

Saint Mark Presbyterian Church
10701 Old Georgetown Road, Rockville, MD

Co-presented by the Institute of Musical Traditions and the Asian Arts & Culture Center at Towson University. Supported in part by a grant from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

GRAMMY Award winning American Roots artists Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer join with Chinese classical hammered dulcimer player Chao Tian in a show that combines music from China to Appalachia and beyond. Instrumentation includes yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer), gourd banjo, five-string banjo, ukulele, guitars, dumbek, cello-banjo and mandolin.

The group’s repertoire includes traditional Chinese and Appalachian music as well as contemporary and traditional music from around the world. Unusual combinations explore new arrangements to old music, such as “Dark Eyes.” Ukulele, yangqin and guitar create a new pallet for this Russian folk song turned jazz manouche tune. Cathy and Marcy join Chao in singing a Chinese lullaby, “Nani Wan” and Chao easily adds her love of American Old-Time music to fiddle tunes and songs.

From China to Appalachia was borne of a friendship and mutual love of musical exploration experienced in jam sessions that inspired a show speaking to the power of music to connect cultures. The trio’s inaugural performances include the Music Center at Strathmore (N. Bethesda, MD) and the Ashe Civic Center (Ashe Co., NC). On their own, these awesome artists have performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Museum of Art, on PBS and National Public Radio.

Classically trained since the age of five, Chao Tian spent years working as an instructor and the director of the Arts Education Center at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). She is a founding member of BLCU Arts College's music department and has been appointed as an officer of the International Culture Exchange Program in 2019.

Chao has performed in over 30 different countries and regions across the globe and collaborated with numerous talented musicians in many unprecedented projects. In 2015, she was accepted into the prestigious Artist in Residence program at the Music Center at Strathmore, where she met Cathy Fink. Cathy has served as a mentor-in-residence in that program for fifteen years.

Becky Hill has worked with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, Good Foot Dance Company, Rhythm in Shoes, and has studied with an array of percussive dance luminaries. She has an MFA in dance from University of Maryland and was recently a Loghaven Artist-in-Residence. She has collaborated with Chao, Marcy & Cathy via her role as Strathmore Artist in Residence. Becky's work is deeply rooted in the connections between music and community and she is dedicated to creating innovative choreography rooted within Appalachian traditions. www.rebeccahill.org

TWO-TIME GRAMMY® Award Winners, Cathy Fink & Marcy  Marxer are master musicians with a career spanning 40 years. Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, cello-banjo, and more. Their repertoire ranges from classic country to western swing, gypsy jazz to bluegrass, and old-time string band to contemporary folk (including some original gems).

Cathy & Marcy have performed at hundreds of bluegrass and folk festivals and taught at close to 100 music camps worldwide. Happily known as “social music conductors” ready to start a jam session, a community sing, or create a music camp helping others learn to play and sing, the duo’s past students include Kaki King and Rhiannon Giddens.

Contact: info@cathymarcy.com 

THIS SHOW IS NOW SOLD OUT. There will be NO tickets available at the door.

Previous events

Wednesday, June 28th, 2023, IMT Presents Brendan Mulvihill. Saint Mark Presbyterian Church | 10701 Old Georgetown Rd, Rockville, MD 20852 | 7:30pm| $25 adv (+$2 box office fee) $30 door Though PayPal is used as our credit and debit card processor, no, you don't have to have a PayPal account. When you click "payment method" you will see a yellow button that says "checkout with PayPal". You will still be able to use a credit or debit card at that point. Please add your phone number and home address to the notes field so that we may contact you in the event of cancelation, or to thank you with a letter for donations as appropriate.

IMT recommends that masks be worn by attendees to protect themselves and recommends all patrons be vaccinated. Please do not attend any IMT concerts if you are not feeling well.

Thursday, May 18th, 2022, IMT & The Americana Stage Present Dirk & Amelia Powell. Saint Mark Presbyterian Church | 10701 Old Georgetown Rd, Rockville, MD 20852 | 7:30pm | Tickets are $20 in advance (+$2 box office fee) and $25 at the door. Doors open half an hour before showtime.

Though PayPal is used as our credit and debit card processor, no, you don't have to have a PayPal account. When you click "payment method" you will see a yellow button that says "checkout with PayPal". You will still be able to use a credit or debit card at that point. Please add your phone number and home address to the notes field so that we may contact you in the event of cancelation, or to thank you with a letter for donations as appropriate.

IMT recommends that masks be worn by attendees to protect themselves and recommends all patrons be vaccinated. Please do not attend any IMT concerts if you are not feeling well.

The Maryland Premiere of ALL WIGGED OUT will be on Thursday, April 27 at the Silver Spring Civic Center at 7pm. Tickets are $25. Event sponsors pay $500. Goal is to raise $10K for Hope Connections for Cancer, whose motto is “No one should go through cancer alone.”

Tickets are $25 and you're welcome to submit additional donations.

Monday April 10th, 2023
Institute of Musical Traditions presents Spælimenninir.
Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza | 1 Veterans Place, Silver Spring, MD 20910 | 7:30pm
Tickets are $25 in advance (+$2 box office fee) and $30 at the door Doors open half an hour before showtime. The Check-out with PayPal button allows you to pay with your credit card or with your PayPal account.

Though PayPal is used as our credit and debit card processor, no, you don't have to have a PayPal account. When you click "payment method" you will see a yellow button that says "checkout with PayPal". You will still be able to use a credit or debit card at that point. Please add your phone number and home address to the notes field so that we may contact you in the event of cancelation, or to thank you with a letter for donations as appropriate.