College Hosts Contemporary Folk Duo "Magpie" for Riverfront Concert Thursday, June 30

CHESTERTOWN, MD— Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner, who have played together as the contemporary folk duo Magpie for nearly 40 years, will bring their eclectic blend of blues, jazz, country, and swing to Chestertown for the second concert of the Washington College Riverfront Concert Series on Thursday evening, June 30.

Sponsored by the College’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the concert will begin at 6:30 p.m. on the riverside lawn behind the Custom House, located at the corner of High and Water streets. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own blankets, lawn chairs, and picnics. Lemonade and cookies will be provided free of charge, and special boxed dinners will be available at Play it Again Sam cafe, 108 S. Cross St., (call for details 410-778-2688). In case of inclement weather, the concert will take place in The Egg, a performance space in Hodson Hall Commons on the main Washington College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

A gifted singer of jazz and blues in the tradition of Connie Boswell and Billie Holiday, Terry Leonino also plays the mandolin, rhythm guitar, harmonica, and fretted dulcimer. Greg Artzner’s fingerstyle approach to the guitar, influenced by legends such as Rolly Brown, Phil Ochs, and Big Bill Broonzy, gives Magpie a unique “core” sound that ties together its work across styles.

Leonino and Artzner have performed at the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Philadelphia Folk Festival. They are master artists with the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, and spend several weeks a year working to help teachers find new ways to incorporate music into early childhood education. They have also created, and regularly perform, several thematic school programs on historical topics such as the Great Depression, the Underground Railroad, and the civil rights movement.

In 2000, Magpie collaborated with scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center to create a “museum musical” about the life cycle of the Chesapeake Bay’s most famous resident, the blue crab. “Tales of the Blue Crab” premiered at the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theatre and is now a traveling show performed in schools around the country. It visited Rock Hall Elementary this past January.

Over the last 35 years, Magpie has recorded 11 albums, including In This World (2008), Raise Your Voice (2005), and Circle of Life (1992), which folk legend Tom Paxton praised as “a challenge to any of us who aspire to putting out music with depth and relevance.” The group has recorded with Pete Seeger, contributed songs to tribute albums such as Where Have All the Flowers Gone: The Songs of Pete Seeger (1998) and What’s That I Hear?: The Songs of Phil Ochs (1998) and collaborated with duo Kim & Reggie Harris on two albums. For more on Magpie, see http://www.magpiemusic.com.

The concert sponsor, the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College, explores our nation's history, particularly the legacy of its Founding era, in innovative ways. Through educational programs, scholarship and public outreach, and a special focus on written history, the Starr Center seeks to bridge the divide between the academic world and the public at large. For more information on the Center, visit http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu