Poet Violinist www.swilkanim.net
Lummi violinist Swil Kanim was first inspired to learn the violin at the knee of Lummi Indian fiddler, Charlie Kahana. After several years serving in the Army and it's Variety Show, Swil Kanim returned to the Seattle area and juxtaposed odd jobs with street performances at Pike Place Market, where he was “discovered” and drafted as an extra on CBS’s "Northern Exposure." He appeared in 24 "NE"episodes and played fiddler on two. Swill was widely revered for his sensitive performance as "Mouse" in Sherman Alexis’ award-winning 2002 film, "The Business of Fancy Dancing". As a musician and actor, Swil Kanim exudes what he calls "inspired self-expression in community." The late Nicholas Bussard, former conductor of the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, fondly compared Swil Kanim’s music to "unaccompanied Bach."
Savor the Sound
with Eric Fridrich www.ericfridrich.com
Chicago native guitarist, vocalist, and harmonica player Eric Fridrich brings a sense of versatility and awareness to his singer/songwriter roots. With touches of rock, jazz, folk, blues and Latin, Fridrich delivers a sound rich in pop hooks, jazz tags and blues turnarounds. His music is extremely accessible, as evidenced by open invitations to play in China, France, Australia, Italy, UK, zchech, Caribbean and all over the US. His recent work garnered a 2006 nomination for "Best New Artist of the Year" from Seattle Weekly, a full-page feature article in “The Collegient,” in-studio interview at KBCS-FM, Channel 5 News exclusive interview, along with a slew of national radio exposure. Usually a solo performer, you can find him in Chicago with the likes of internationally respected Nate Lerohl (double bass) who adds the German bow in the Duocracy. In Seattle, you’ll find Fridrich leading the Eric Fridrich Trio--with bassist Steve Kim and percussionist Johnny Conga, whose illustrious credits include the Jackson 5, Gloria Estaban, among 20 other Grammy Award winners.
Steve Thoreson
Tenor YouTube Video Critics and aficionados alike compare his voice to that of Luciano Pavarotti. A natural talent from North Bend, Washington, Steve grew up winning every singing competition in his region and early on was sent by the Seattle Opera to study in Siena, Italy. His studies have taken him throughout Europe, including to the renowned Swedish vocalist, actress and teacher, Britt Bern. Thoreson has performed extensively in Sweden, in concert, on radio and television. His singing has taken him to twenty seven countries, performing in churches, piazzas, concert halls and sporting arenas. A powerhouse of Norwegian and Native American decent, Steve Thoreson is a major force to contend with in the world of opera.
Overton Berry
Music Director www.overtonberry.com
Overton Berry began his musical career over fifty years ago at the age of 16 when he played USO shows at military bases on the west coast with the first Overton Berry Trio. In the Pacific Northwest, he’s considered “a living legend”, and his wealth of experience and generations of fans bear witness to this affectionate accolade. His credits include Music Director for the Peggy Lee Concert at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair; Music Director for the House of Entertainment during the Seattle World’s Fair; Music Director for the Canadian tour La Hora de Jazz Concerts; Music Director of the Gene Stridel Show, Hollywood Overseas Committee - Viet Nam; and Music Director of the Overton Berry Trio and the TOBE School of Music. He has played extensively in venues around the world including Sans Souci in Tokyo, the Marriott in Cairo, the Peninsula Hotel in Bangkok, the China Hotel in Guangzhou, China and the Sheraton Hotel in Hong Kong.
Steve Kim
Bass Player www.kimpossibilities.net
Steve Kim started playing bass in 1969 and has been teaching the instrument since 1974. He has studied bass with Ray Brown, Gary Peacock and composition with Charlie Banacos. Kim’s performances include appearances with Larry Coryell, Alphonse Mouzon, Carter Jefferson, Dave Valentine, Jay Thomas, Scott Cossu, Lee Oscar and Micheal Spiro as well as recordings with Scott Cossu , Van Manakas & Jim Brock, and Don Mock. He has been commissioned to compose for the Southern Arts Council, the Seattle Arts Commission, choreographers Bill Evans, Clay Talefero and Jeff Bickford, and northwest filmmaker Eric Patton. In 1987, he served as a cultural ambassador representing the City of Seattle in Kobe, Japan and in 1989, was chosen by the State of Washington as a Centennial Artist during the year-long Washington State Centennial Celebration. Kim has been a faculty member of the Pacific Lutheran University Music Department, The National Guitar Workshop and The Experience Music Project. Currently he is an associate faculty member in the music department at Shoreline Community College and adjunct faculty member at South Seattle Community College. His second solo recording, "The Book Of Changes," was released in the fall of 2005. An visual artist as well as a musician, Kim’s paintings have appeared in The Spindrift (2006 & 2007) Arts & Literary Journal. In the fall of 2007, Kim toured in Japan with guitarist Brian Nova and vibraphonist Kiyoko Ami.
After over 20 years of performing and recording, award-winning virtuoso guitarist Andre Feriante has left his musical mark on the classical, world music and fusion scenes. A cross-over artist in the vein of YoYo Ma or Sting, his performance program represents a bold but fluid musical fusion, featuring music from Bach to Leonard Cohen, flamenco improvisation to jazz standards, and even poetry by Federico Garcia Lorca, Rumi and Feriante himself.
Born in Naples, Italy, Feriante spent his formative years between Southern Italy and Manziana, a village just outside Rome. At age nine he announced his intentions to be a flamenco guitarist. He worked and saved to buy his first instrument, then at age 13, he began studying at the Overseas School of Rome. By the time he was 16, Feriante was already performing the works of Bach, Vivaldi, Albeniz and Scarlatti, and by age 18, he had launched his musical career, playing concerts in Rome, Berlin and North and South America. He continued his studies with world-renowned classical guitarists Andres Segovia and Jose Tomas (Segovia’s assistant) in Madrid, Henry Rivas in Bogota, Columbia, and Leon Atkinson in New York.
Since moving to Seattle in the 1980s, Feriante has established himself as a Northwest favorite, having performed throughout the Puget Sound area in public and private concerts for a virtual “Who’s Who of Seattle.” His music has been featured on “Hearts of Space,” the No. 2 music program on NPR. This year Feriante was picked for MSN’s celebrity feature, “12 Sexy Bald Men,” along with Andre Agassi, Seal, Vin Diesel, Taye Diggs and Patrick Stewart, among others. In addition to his busy performance schedule, Feriante currently hosts “La Guitarra,” on Classic King FM 98.1, the Arts Channel.
Besides his much-anticipated annual performance at
Benaroya Hall, Feriante has played a wide variety of venues including The King Cat Theatre (where he opened for Olita Adams and David Benoit), The Frye Art Museum, The Paramount Theater, and the Key Arena, where he performed the National Anthem for the Seattle Sonics. Feriante recently performed with the Northwest Symphony at Benaroya Hall with “Heart” and “Alice and Chains.” And this year also marked his 10th anniversary Valentine’s concert at Benaroya.
Festival appearances include the Maui Music Festival, Seattle Folklife Festival, Seattle Hempfest and Bumbershoot. And Feriante headlined at “La Festa di Manziana” in Rome. He makes regular appearances on Seattle radio and television and was featured on the Classical King FM Compilation Natural Symphony CD, as well as on the Tigerbreath label with Ottmar Liebert, Craig Chaquico and others. He also played at Javeriana University in Bogota, Colombia, and for Jose Carreras at special fundraising receptions at Carnegie Hall and Benaroya Hall to benefit the Jose Carreras Leukemia Foundation.
Feriante’s eleven albums have consistently charted within the top 10, and his album, Bohemian Boulevard, debuted at No. 1 on the world and ambient radio charts. It remained in the top 20 for 5 months and then went on to win “Best World Album” in the New Age Reporter’s 2006 Lifestyle Awards.
A seasoned, expressive performer whose style is as elegant as it is conversational, Feriante's innovative and effortless style appeals to any ear with a love and passion for music. He has dedicated his life to his art, and his ability to communicate through sound never fails to lead his audience on an emotional journey that is as deeply personal as it is universal.
Reviews
Critics, Fans, & Colleagues
"His musicianship is sensitive, articulate, pleasing and entirely in accord with his own music. One does not always find this sort of harmony on the concert platform."
- R.M. Campbell, Seattle PI Music Critic
"Feriante's music is full of lyricism and reflection... I'm not surprised he's gaining national and international recognition."
- Peter Donnelly, Pres., Seattle Corporate Council for the Arts
"Muy bien... wonderful tone."
- Andres Segovia
"Andre Feriante takes the genre to a whole new level..."
Best local musician.
- Seattle Magazine
"From his guitar to your heart."
- AOL Cityguide Starla Smith
"Extraordinary touch... exquisite musicianship, authenticity and innate sense of tase."
- Willamette Week, Portland
"Andre Feriante’s lyrics have been compar- ed to leonard Cohen, his sound to Andres Segovia and his looks to a genetic mix of Andre Agassi, Nicholas Cage and Eminem."
- Digital City
"Feriante's music is soothing and romantic with the fiery undercurrent of flamenco."
- Latin Style
"The rhythms and romanticism of Spain come alive when he takes the stage"
- Maui Music Festival
"Feriante is a master at painting musical pictures."
- Victory Review
"Feriante's solo guitar blends classical and Spanish styles in a manner guaranteed to open the hardest heart."
- The Utne Reader
"There is a soulful satisfying purity to his music... his style is so perfect... played with a surgeon's touch and a poet's soul."
- The Sounding Board - R J Lannan Read the Entire Interview
Book of Poetry
Anatomie de la Luna
Samples
from Anatomie de la Luna
Women of Picasso
I dance the world
on spinning mountain peaks
of sleep
invisible partners glide
to and from my arms falling out
into spacious ballrooms of rose
My sorrow is a cup of blue honey
and I sip the swirls of desire
laughing strong in dance
because I know nothing
Every place I spin
there forms a memory of me
billows of light engulf me
and I am driven by the music
of vibrant abandon
I dance where silence
has not yet formed
beneath the virgin coils of longing
where the wings of angels
are waiting still to move
I dance in the eyes of the dead...
Untitled
I almost put 'I love you'
in words last night
but I held my tongue
and kept it in my eyes
Portrait
I will paint for you
a large guitar with thick black lines
I will fill it with
the fading cities of yesterday
Rome Barcelona Santa Cruz
with the ancient streets
I frequent in my sleep
I will paint the neck
as delicate
as the back of a woman
Along the strings
I will spin invisible strands of joy
and long filaments of moonlight
I will paint myself
as the arms of a tree
slowly embracing the guitar
in gradual surrender
to the heavy beauty of stars
My face will be painted
in the eyes of clouds
drifting yet paralyzed in stillness...
At age nine he announced his intentions to be a flamenco guitarist. He worked and saved to buy his first instrument, then at age 13, he began studying at the Overseas School of Rome. By the time he was 16, Feriante was already performing the works of Bach, Vivaldi, Albeniz and Scarlatti, and by age 18, he had launched his musical career, playing concerts in Rome, Berlin and North and South America. He continued his studies with world-renowned classical guitarists Andres Segovia and Jose Tomas (Segovia’s assistant) in Madrid, Henry Rivas in Bogota, Columbia, and Leon Atkinson in New York.
the Puget Sound area in public and private concerts for a virtual “Who’s Who of Seattle.” His music has been featured on “Hearts of Space,” the No. 2 music program on NPR. This year Feriante was picked for MSN’s celebrity feature, “12 Sexy Bald Men,” along with Andre Agassi, Seal, Vin Diesel, Taye Diggs and Patrick Stewart, among others. In addition to his busy performance schedule, Feriante currently hosts “La Guitarra,” on Classic King FM 98.1, the Arts Channel.
including The King Cat Theatre (where he opened for Olita Adams and David Benoit), The Frye Art Museum, The Paramount Theater, and the Key Arena, where he performed the National Anthem for the Seattle Sonics. Feriante recently performed with the Northwest Symphony at Benaroya Hall with “Heart” and “Alice and Chains.” And this year also marked his 10th anniversary Valentine’s concert at Benaroya.
