“Pete Seeger was a giant of our time,” says Jeff Place, archivist at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in his tribute to legendary musician, Smithsonian Folkways artist, and ally of the Folklife Festival. Honor Pete’s work and celebrate his life at the Smithsonian Folkways tribute to Pete Seeger.

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Opera in Bhutan

The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage helped produce the first opera ever to be staged in Bhutan in October 2013. The project grew out of the 2008 Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon Folklife Festival program and led to the world premiere of an original production of G.F. Handel’s Acis and Galatea, created by renowned director Stefano Vizioli. Program curator Preston Scott was involved in the planning and production of the opera and traveled to Bhutan for the premiere.

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“Faith” in Smithsonian Folkways Magazine

Throughout human history, “faith” has been a steady source of inspiration for creative cultural engagement around the world. The new issue of Smithsonian Folkways Magazine explores a diverse selection of faith-based expressions represented in the Smithsonian Folkways collection, including Jewish cantorials, the Muslim call to prayer, and Singing and Praying Bands of Maryland and Delaware. Additionally, a holiday-themed lesson plan based on Elizabeth Mitchell’s best-seller The Sounding Joy introduces students to Christmas songs from the Ruth Crawford Seeger songbook.

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Subscriber Discount: Enter code SFRFAITH and save 20% off retail price on CDs or album downloads on albums featured in the new issue of Smithsonian Folkways Magazine through January 31, 2014.

Sneak Preview: Flaco & Max: Legends & Legacies (available 2/25/14)

In the world of accordion-driven Texas-Mexican conjunto music, Leonardo “Flaco” Jiménez and Max Baca are pillars of the past and forgers of the future. Listen to a sneak preview of Legends & Legacies, out February 25.

Smithsonian Folkways: 100+ Free Lesson Plans

Smithsonian Folkways recently published its 100th free lesson plan online! Sourced from a vast network of international teachers, Smithsonian Folkways lesson plans are made available to the public through its Tools for Teaching program. Topics are based on music in the Smithsonian Folkways collection and can range from South African freedom songs to Mexican son jorocho and everything in between. Browse by geography on our website and our Pinterest board!

Preview the 2014 Festival: Dimen Dong Folk Chorus

The Dimen Dong Folk Chorus of Guizhou Province, China, performed at the 2013 Folklife Festival as a preview for the China: Tradition and the Art of Living program for this summer’s Festival. The Dong people, one of China’s 55 acknowledged minorities, number nearly 2.63 million in southwest China. The remoteness of their villages has accounted for the remarkable preservation of their music and culture. We hope to host them again this year at the Folklife Festival to share their unique choral musical tradition.

Watch a video of the Dimen Dong Folk Chorus performing at the 2013 Folklife Festival

Sneak Peek: Digitizing the Cook Labs Records

We are currently digitizing the Cook Labs Records in the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Quirky, clever, and full of a missionary zeal for sound, Emory Cook’s papers are a joy to explore. In this previously unreleased image, a man entertains a crowd in Trinidad with his impressive limbo skills. His audio catalog is brimming with excellent calypso and steel band recordings. Celebrate the ongoing digitizing of the Cook Labs records by listening to Lord Melody’s “Limbo Basso.”

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Images (from top to bottom): 1) Pete Seeger performs at the 1970 Festival of American Folklife. Courtesy of Bill Pierce. 2) Acis and Galatea. Courtesy of UTEP News Service. 3) Friday Night Service album cover. Photo by David Gahr. 4) Flaco & Max: Legends & Legacies album cover. Photo by Tom Pich. 5) Music of the Jos Plateau and other regions of Nigeria album cover. Photo by Olga Diamond. 6) Dimen Dong Folk Chorus. Courtesy of the Western China Cultural Ecology Research Workshop. 7) Cook Labs Records, 1939-2002. Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.