May 8th             

Open to fifth graders and up, parents and children, and adults.  (Children below 5th grade level must be accompanied by an adult.)  Make a simple resonant version of the Senegambian ancestor to the  banjo in advance of akonting player Sana Ndiaye's free June 18th instructional workshop and his band Gokh-Bi System's free June 19th concert. Registration required, limited enrollment.  $8.00 fee includes kit, tools, and resources.  See akonting videos at www.shipsofthesea/videos   

Contact www.tonypizzo@shipsofthesea.org

Acoustic-electric guitar/cello duo returns to our garden in a concert sponsored by the Savannah Folk Music Society.  Call 798-6953 or email HGWiesman1@aol.com for information.  This is part of our ongoing series of SFMS concerts in our garden.  Admission charged.

In recognition of the S.S. Savannah's historic trans-Atlantic crossing and the establishment of National Maritme Day in 1933, by President Franklin Roosevelt, Ships of the Sea is pleased to offer free admission Saturday May 22, in honor of this holiday.

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"Sailors, Ships, and the Sea: True Stories from the Maritime Records of the National Archives at Atlanta"

Using the records from the National Archives at Atlanta Rob Richards will tell the stories of Savannah's maritime past.  Highlighted notables include: Lachlan McIntosh, William Scarbrough, James Wayne, the Steamer "City of Savannah," and the Schooner "Wanderer."

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Please join us at Ships of the Sea Museum for a celebration of local history with the dedication of the Georgia Historical Society's street-side marker commemorating the Scarbrough House's place in the architectural and maritime history of Georgia.  Dedication at 12:15pm followed by a reception in the garden pavilion. 

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A unique free event providing the history and playing styles of this West African ancestor of the banjo.  Bring an akonting made at one of our workshops or just come by to listen to Sana before the free Gokh-Bi System concert at the Museum, Saturday the 19th at 5pm.

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Hear this propulsive Senegalese/American traditional/hip hop group (including akonting player Sana Ndiaye) in a free all-ages public concert.  Co-sponsored with the Telfair Museums and the City of Savannah as part of Juneteenth activities.  (There will also be Juneteenth activities during the day at the Jepson Center, including presentations by Sana and Gokh-Bi System.)  www.telfair.org

 Ships of the Sea Museum in cooperation with the India Association of Savannah will present a free concert of North and South Indian music played on the veena and tabla.  Indian snacks and beverages will be available.  For concert information call 232-1511 or tonypizzo@shipsofthesea.org; for information on the India Association of Savannah, contact ndudani@yahoo.com

This concert is the result of a collaboration between two musicians who represent the two main traditions of Indian classical music - the Carnatic music of the South and the Hindustani music of the North.  Both received training in their respective instruments in the very demanding music schools of India, and have continued to develop their skills here in Savannah.  Their ninety minute program will consist of duets and solos drawing on classical music of India as well, making it an event of interest to both those familiar with or just learning about this music tradition.

Mrs. Vidhya Ramakrishnan began studying the veena at the age of nine and completed her Certificate of Higher Studies in South Indian Classical Music at the age of 16.  She has taught and given recitals in the Gulf counties, Canada and the U.S.  The veena is an ancient long-necked lute which is over 3000 years old, and capable of very subtle musical expression.

Mr. Ashwin Inamdar bega his study of the tabla and Hindustani classical music in the Punjab style at the age of 12 in Mumbai, and has continued to refine his playing over the past fifteen years.  He has played as solosist or accompanist in classical, jazz and fusion settings.  He is presently a Professor of Animation at SCAD.  The tabla consists of a set tuned hand drums capable of an astoundingly wide range of rhythms, tones and effects.

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The Around the Globe Sea Chantey Singers sing chanteys, the work songs of the ships and docks from the great age of sail, as well as other maritime songs, striving for the authenticity and verve that these songs demand.  Organixed by Art Rosenbaum, the group consists mainly of art students and former art students from the University of Georgia.  Their name comes from the Globe, a pub in Athens, Georgia, where they get together to sing.  Art, Savannah native Mason Savage, Wes Airgood, Bart Lynch and others will serve as "chanteymen," leading the call-and-response songs.  Their first CD, "Way Down in Dixie" includes many chanteys of the Southern cotton trade out of ports like Savannah, Mobile, and New Orleans, where African American and Yankee and British folk singing traditions blended.  Most of the chanteys were sung a capella, as they were on shipboard and on the docks; Art accompanies some songs on guitar, accordion, and 5 and 7 string banjos; and plays a few nautical-themed fiddle tunes.

Art Rosenbaum has been an active researcher, performer, and advocate for traditional American folk music for over 50 years.  He has produced numerous LPs, CDs and television and radio documentaries drawing on his field work in the South and Midwest.  His recent CD set, The Art of Field Recording: 50 Years of Traditional Music Documented by Art Rosenbaum Vol. 1, won a Grammy for Best Historical Recording, 2008.  He is author of two books on Georgia folk music.  He has taught studio art at the University of Iowa and the University of Georgia, and has also taught seminars in American Folk music and vernacular art.  Besides banjo, he plays fiddle, guitar and harmonica, and his repertoire includes mountain songs and ballads, sea chanteys, blues, and fiddle and banjo tunes.  For several years he has played banjo with the Skillet Lickers, a continuation of the famous Georgia string band, Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, founded in the 1920's.

Drawing by Art Rosenbaum

 Photos by Margo Newmark Rosenbaum

Children build their own boats and race them in a water trough.  $10 per child and one adult.  Fee includes kit and admission to Museum.  Please call Karl DeVries at 912-232-1511 for information and to register for hourly sessions.  Pond yacht choices are: 2-masted schooner, junk and square-rigger (as shown at right).

Examples of pond yachts

The Ships of the Sea Museum's second annual Boatbuilding-from-Kit Weekend Workshop will be held Saturday and Sunday, September 25 and 26, 2010, under the fan-cooled tent in the Museum garden.  Under the leadership of experienced seaman and Bevin's kit-builder Captain Clayton Embly and Museum staff, in two days we will assemble, finish and launch two Bevin's skiffs from kits purchased from the Alexandria Seaport Foundation.  Mr. Embly will supply all tools needed for the workshop. . . participants should bring work gloves, bag lunches and water.  Workshop hours will be from 10-4 Saturday, and 10-2 Sunday.  This is an excellent opportunity to learn something about boatbuilding and try out kit building without buying a kit.  Woodworking expertise is not necessary - we'll basically be using sandpaper, caulk and screwdrivers.  (Last year's workshop was a gratifying experience. . . just look at the faces in the photo!)

At the end of the workshop, two participants will have the option of purchasing the finished skiffs at $750.  (Less than the cost of materials.)

The cost of the two day workshop is $40. per adult or parent with one child.  Those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.  Advance registration is required and limited to 24 people, so please register early.  For more information or to register call Karl at 912-232-1511, or email karldevries@shipsofthesea.org

Boatbuilding-from-Kit, 2009

Broadside for September activites

David Jacobs-Strain is a slide guitarist and modern roots singer-songwriter whose musical journey begins in the wellspring of Delta blues but ranges far afield from there.  In his mid-twenties, he already channels age-old wisdom and heartache with such dexterity, energy, and passion that you feel good, even about feeling bad.  He tours nationally and has numerous festival credits, which include the Strawberry Music Festival, MerleFest, the Lugano Blues to Bop Festival in Switzerland, the Newport Folk Festival, and the Montreal Jazz Festival.  He's also served as faculty at guitar workshops, most notably at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch.  In 2008, Boz Scaggs chose him to open for his summer tour.

For further information please visit www.savannahfolk.org or call 786-6953.

David Jacobs-Strain

photo by: Tara Laidlaw