May 10, 2013 — New music will be performed tonight and tomorrow in Saranac Lake and North Elba as part of the John Brown Day events. Voices of Timbuctoo is a new work based on the Adirondack settlement of Black farmers in the mid-1800's designed to secure voting rights. Abolitionist Gerrit Smith gave away 120,000 acres of his land, beginning in 1846, hoping the Adirondack wilderness would offer refuge to black families.

Voices of Timbuctoo, is an oratorio written by western New York composer Glenn McClure. It's part of what he calls a Musical Freedom Trail. Some of his other works written to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation have been performed in Alabama, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and later this month in Rochester.

McClure says his research for the oratorio included reading through diaries, letters and documents featuring the words of Gerrit Smith, John Brown, and the individuals who worked on the land that Smith had provided. McClure told Todd Moe that these texts illustrate hope and promise.  Go to full article

May 09, 2013 — A new children's book by Canton writer Mary Sue Seymour includes illustrations by a young artist from Ogdensburg. Friends in a Storm tells the story of Squirrel, who gets locked out of his house during a rainstorm, and is befriended by Owl.

Todd Moe spoke with author Mary Sue Seymour and 12-year-old artist Samantha Flynn, who created the illustrations for the book. Seymour says she wrote the story while teaching a kindergarten class in Hammond.

Mary Sue Seymour and Samantha Flynn will sign copies of their book, Friends in a Storm, at the Brewer Bookstore in Canton from 1-3 pm on Saturday.  Go to full article

May 06, 2013 — Kim and Reggie Harris will bring their music and stories of the Underground Railroad and the modern civil rights movement to Saranac Lake tonight and tomorrow. The duo combine a strong folk and gospel legacy along with a solid background in classic, rock and pop music.

They'll perform songs of peace and freedom tonight, 7:30 pm, at Saranac Village at Will Rogers, and use their music to teach students at Saranac Lake Central School more about Harriet Tubman and Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior. Reggis Harris told Todd Moe that their music is meant to entertain and inspire.  Go to full article

Watertown, NY, May 02, 2013 — The Sackets Harbor Vocal Arts Ensemble will pay tribute, through song, to the 272 Fort Drum soldiers who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last decade. The...  Go to full article

Apr 30, 2013 — Our guest is well-known essayist and poet Terry Tempest Williams, talking about her most recent book, When Women Were Birds, Fifty-Four Variations on Voice - a...  Go to full article

Apr 30, 2013 — There's been a lot of talk lately about ...  Go to full article

Apr 26, 2013 — Our guest is George Bilgere, author of The White Museum, Haywire, The Good Kiss and other collections of poetry. A new collection, Imperial, is due out this...  Go to full article