The folk duo Johanna Hongell-Darsee and Scott Darsee will perform their blend of early traditional Scandinavian/Celtic ballads and tales at Santa Fe’s First Presbyterian Church on Friday, Feb. 3.
Their wanderings have led them from Finland and Iowa respectively – through Europe, Scandinavia, India, and the U.S. On the way, they picked up tales and songs that they perform together with the stories behind them, in particular exploring the links between Scandinavian, Celtic, North American and other story singing traditions.
Three of their recordings have been nominated for Best Vocal Performance by the New Mexico Music Awards.
After relocating to New Mexico from Scandinavia in 2001, the duo have performed all over the U.S. at festivals, theaters, schools, libraries and live broadcasts including Albuquerque’s Outpost Performance Space, Scandinavian festivals in Colorado, Georgia, Los Angeles and Kansas.
Johanna (vocals, woodwinds, stringed instruments, research, translation, arrangements) was born in Finland. Apart from music, she has a background in theater and dance. She studied theater in France and Bharata Natyam dance in India. She has worked as a performing artist for over 30 years in Scandinavia, Europe, India and the U.S.
Scott (stringed instruments, arrangements) is a guitarist and creates original musical arrangements and compositions for the couple’s performances of medieval ballads. Before that, he worked as a medical consultant for ballet companies in the U.S. and Europe.
_WebHeadline”>EXCERPT: The folk duo Johanna Hongell-Darsee and Scott Darsee will perform their blend of early traditional Scandinavian/Celtic ballads and tales at Santa Fe’s First Presbyterian Church on Friday, Feb. 3.
