Seeger Songfest May 30 celebrates tradition of using music to protest injustice
Nationally renowned guitarist and composer Jim Scott will lead the Pete Seeger Songfest at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 30, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, 102 S. Second St.
The event is a celebration of legendary folk singer Pete Seeger, who spent his life using music to promote justice and social change. The singalong program will honor Seeger's contributions to our American heritage and include his well-loved songs, "If I Had a Hammer," "Turn, Turn, Turn," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", and many others. The suggested donation for the event is $10 to $15, on a sliding scale. For more information, contact songfest@uusg.org.
The audience will have the chance to sing these beloved folk songs with Jim Scott, Seeger's friend and collaborator, whose warmth, authenticity, guitar mastery and humorous surprises moved Seeger to declare that he's "some kind of a magician." For more than 35 years, Scott has created and performed music that celebrates peace, justice and the earth. With degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Berklee College, he cowrote the celebrated "Missa Gaia - Earth Mass" and many other pieces with the Paul Winter Consort, an ecological jazz group. His eco-anthem, "A Song for the Earth," was recorded at the United Nations and Scott collected and arranged "The Earth and Spirit Songbook," an anthology of 110 songs of earth and peace by contemporary songwriters. He has created an extensive body of work including PBS soundtracks, award-winning choral works and seven CDs of original music, including his newest, "Gather the Spirit." To learn more about Jim Scott, visit www.JimScottMusic.com.
The Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, established in 1842, is the oldest church in Geneva. It is a diverse, welcoming community that endeavors to make its covenant, which begins "Being Desirous of Promoting Practical Goodness in the World," a living reality. It provides religious education and opportunities for spiritual growth. The church encourages individual and mutual responsibility as its members work together to be a liberal religious voice in the community and a force for compassionate social justice. For information, visit www.uusg.org.