Nature reborn at PEEC concert

Native American performers join with modern composer to celebrate the return of spring

DINGMANS FERRY, PA — The Kindred Spirits Arts Programs will present “Native Voices Of The Past And Present” at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 4, at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC). Featured in this celebration of nature’s rebirth are pianist and composer David Amram and his friends, singer-musician Victorio Roland Vargas Moussa, and native musicians, dancers and story tellers Matoaka Little Eagle and Powhatan Swift Eagle.

Since the 1950s, Amram has embraced a variety of musical styles and a wide range of cultural traditions in his quest to reveal the universal and the eternal. He has collaborated with the likes of Jack Kerouac, Langston Hughes, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Willie Nelson and Tito Puente. Currently he is working on a new setting of the Mass, the “Missa Manhattan,” with author Frank McCourt. More artists’ details can be found at www.kindredspiritsprograms.org

The concert will take place in the Visitors’ Activity Center located on PEEC’s campus, an apt setting for a program devoted to the wonders of nature as expressed in native cultures. To enhance the experience, a pre-concert nature hike will be held at 1:30 p.m. to discover the sights and sounds of spring. Participants are reminded to wear comfortable hiking boots and bring lots of water.

Tickets cost $20 for adults, $10 for children ages seven to 11 and students with a valid student ID. Children ages six and under are admitted free. Tickets can be purchased at Born To Be, located in Forest Hall on the corner of Broad and Harford Streets in Milford, or at the center.