Kitka.org Website Review

WINTERSONGS 2018 Menlo Park: December 2 Santa Cruz: December 8 San Rafael: December 9 Oakland: December 14 & 15 Los Angeles: December “Even God stops to listen when Kitka opens its collective mouth.” Wintersongs Community Sing with TZVETANKA VARIMEZOVA & KITKA Simply amazing harmonies.. truly this is the most wonderful singing I have ever heard” > The women in Kitka are fearless sonic explorers, and you can hear > their intrepid spirit in every haunting song. For nearly four > decades, the eight-woman Oakland ensemble has developed a vast, > breathtaking repertoire of traditional songs from the Balkans, > Caucasus and Slavic lands, as well as new material composed for the > group drawing on those traditional vocal practices. Traveling to > rural communities in Armenia and Bulgaria, Ukraine and Georgia, > Serbia and Turkey, they’ve gathered songs and communed with elders > who are often the last links to centuries-old traditions. The > ravishing textures of the women’s voices, unearthly cadences, > angular rhythms and unfamiliar languages make Kitka’s performances > an enthralling experience. Kitka performs Wintersongs at Filo*i's Winter Solstice Celebration. Šop region, Bulgaria Music and lyrics by Stefan Dragostinov Track 11 on the album Evening Star (Diaphonica 2018) order Evening Star here Performed by: KITKA Women's Vocal Ensemble: Kelly Atkins, Caitlin Tabancay Austin, Natalie Bartlett, Barbara Byers, Shira Cion, Janet In Slavic mythology, the Evening Star was a female deity as*ociated with the planets Venus and Mercury. By some accounts, she was a virgin goddess, and according to others she was the wife of the Moon god and mother of all the stars. Christian lore incorporated the Evening Star A World Premiere, presented by Shotgun Players & Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble. Created by Janet Kutulas, Michelle Carter, & Erika Chong