PATRICIA ALBERTI
performing artists management
GARY STROUTSOS
“ALONG THE RIVER” - LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION OF DISCOVERY
Command Performance for President Bill Clinton at the White House in 1997
Integral component in Ken Burns’ PBS documentary film,”The Epic Journey of Lewis and Clark.”
Participants will:
–Learn about the Northern Plain Indians
and their perspective on their relationship with
the Lewis and Clark Expedition
–Develop a better sense of the time and place of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
–Examine the music of the Native American Indians and the role of music and story-telling in their culture
Gary Stroutsos, international recording artist, composer, performing artist, ethnomusicologist, and educator, presents “Along the River,” an interactive multi-media celebration of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial.
Gary’s fieldwork and recordings over the past ten years have made a distinctive contribution to the preservation of American Indian music and culture which was alive at the time of Lewis and Clark. “Along The River” gives Gary a chance to share his knowledge, music, and stories that he has learned from his field research on the music, traditions, and perspective of the Native American Indians. This presentation is designed to bring to life what he has learned about the Northern Plains Indians’ perspective on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Gary’s work has already been recognized by Ken Burns as being an integral component in the PBS documentary film “The Epic Journey of Lewis and Clark.” The music and stories bring to life the place and time of Lewis and Clark.
Time/Teaching Strategy: A sixty minute interactive mulit-media program in which information is presented through a didactic approach, Gary shares his field research on the Native American Flute, Native American stories and the use of photographic images, nature sounds and his playing of haunting American Indian flute songs. These songs are representative of the Hidatsa, Mandan and Lakota tribes of the northern plains of North and South Dakota. After the presentation Gary will be available for questions and encourages students to come forward to see and hold the flutes.
Overview: “Along The River” celebrates the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial and focuses on the untold perspective of the Native Americans and the lesser known moments in which Lewis & Clark learned about Indian music, song, and spiritual beliefs. “Along The River” not only celebrates the bicentennial of Lewis and Clark but puts a new perspective on what the Corps of Discovery may have heard from an Indian musical perspective. Gary will share this “Spirit of Discovery” through his distinctive music which was featured on the Ken Burns PBS special.
Gary Stroutsos brings alive the lives and times of the Lewis and Clark Expedition through his flute and storytelling, a superior educational program. Gary transports students into the era of Lewis and Clark with his innovative, interactive program. This is history as seen and heard through this unique presentation of Gary Stroutsos.