American Ballads by Christopher J. Hoh – Solmaaz Adeli and Julie Poklewski

Welcome to the CAPMT 2020 Conference, “CAPMT Connects Online 2020”!

Please note that while our CAPMT Conference session information and outline are contained on BigMarker, all sessions will be presented on Zoom and can only be viewed and attended on Zoom.

Please see your email for the Zoom link for all conference sessions including this presentation and performance.

This session will provide a brief intro to the living American Composer and "Shady Grove." This piece was originally written for a choir at George Washington Middle School in Alexandria, VA. This Folksong was long known in Virginia and may well have been sung in Alexandria when George Washington lived there.

"Shady Grove" also hearkens to Great Britain centuries ago and reflects changes as the song moved south and west in the United States. From the bloody Gothic ballad Matty Groves to a bluegrass fiddle tune, this melody reportedly acquired over 300 verses with many meanings and stories. The most popular ones feature a girl whose name is Shady Grove; sometimes she gets left behind, other times the singer leaves to find her.

Julie and Solmaaz will share its history and perform it!