Originally posted to the web in News, on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 10:51 AM CST.
Men of the Deeps in concert next week
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| Men of the Deeps |
From gospel to secular, the men’s choir Men of the Deeps remains one of North America’s strongest and most unique performing groups.
Comprised entirely of current and former coal miners, the Men of the Deeps emerge wearing traditional mining uniforms and lighted helmets. Throughout their 40-year history, they have performed as guests and ambassadors around the world and will bring their strong blend of music to the Webb Center on Friday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
The Men of the Deeps is a choir of working and retired coal miners from the island of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada. Organized in 1966 as part of Cape Breton’s contribution to Canada’s Centennial Year (1967), the group’s inception was an effort by the people of Cape Breton to preserve in song some of the rich folklore of that island’s coal mining communities.
Since 1967 the group has been singing of the work and lifestyle of the Cape Breton coal miner to audiences throughout most of Canada and parts of the United States; in 1976 the Men of the Deeps became the first Canadian performing group to tour the People’s Republic of China after diplomatic relations between the two nations were restored in 1972. And as recently as September 1999 the men traveled to Kosovo in the former Republic of Yugoslavia where, at the request of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, they performed in a gala festival organized by actress Vanessa Redgrave on behalf of the United Nations Children’s Fund.
The musical director of the Men of the Deeps is John C. (Jack) O’Donnell, retired Professor of Music and Professor Emeritus at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Professor O’Donnell is recognized as one of the leading experts in traditional folk music of the area and has published collections of music and analysis.
The musical repertoire of the singing miners is gathered from mining communities around the world. Many of the group’s songs are “home grown” -- composed by contemporary Cape Breton bards, or traditional songs which trace their roots to their Celtic forbearers in the old country.
Today, the Men of the Deeps is more than a singing group - it is a social institution. There is camaraderie amongst the members of the group that carries over to their audiences wherever they perform. Clad in coveralls and hard hats, they make an impressive impact when they enter a concert hall in total darkness with only the lamps on their helmets for light.
Tickets to see Men of the Deeps on Friday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. are $32 for adults and $5 for students 18 and under. Tickets may be reserved through the Webb Center Box Office by calling 684-6624 or visiting www.delewebbcenter.org.
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