Village Harmony, an ensemble of touring young vocalists and instrumentalists with an unusual repertoire and an equally unusual performance style, will make three appearances in Berea Feb. 27 and 28.

Village Harmony

On Thursday, Feb. 28, the group will present a 3 p.m. concert in Phelps-Stokes Chapel on the Berea College campus as part of the College's Convocations series and is the 2001-02 Craft Memorial Concert. At 7:30 p.m. that evening, Village Harmony will perform at Union Church in Berea.

On Wednesday, Feb. 27, 7-9 p.m., Village Harmony will perform with the College's Country Dancers and Berea Folk Dancers in the Seabury Center Dance Studio.

Admission to all of the performances is open to all. Admission is free to the Berea College-sponsored events. Suggested admission to the evening concert at Union Church is $8 for adults and $5 for students. The wide-ranging repertoire of Village Harmony, which requires the command of as many vocal styles, will be a feature of their programs in Berea. Included will be more traditional music from Bulgaria and Caucausus Georgia, contemporary and traditional shape-note songs and portions of a Renaissance mass by Jacob Obrecht.

Village Harmony is especially known for its performances of the choral traditions of Eastern Europe. Bulgarian music features the bright and loud Balkan singing style, close harmonies and catchy, irregular meters. Several of the Balkan numbers also feature the Village Harmony band of accordion, fiddle, saxophones, bass and percussion.

On stage, Village Harmony sings from memory and frequently without a conductor, with a stage presence that is relaxed and informal.

Village Harmony, based in Vermont, is a collaboration of young musicians ages 12 and up from diverse backgrounds. Participants include Vermont homeschoolers, east coast suburban highschoolers and students from Germany, Ukraine, Romania, England and Hong Kong. During the summer, participants from other parts of the country join the group for performances in New England, England and some times additional countries.

In past years, Village Harmony has performed on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Campanion and at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The ensemble has toured in England, Russia and in the mid-west and eastern U.S.