The Blue Hill Public Library will sponsor an event with Leslie Ross, bassoon maker, musician, composer and sound artist on Thursday, December 2 at 6:00pm in the Howard Room. 

Leslie Ross will be joined by Hawk Henries, a member of the Chaubunagungamaug band of Nipmuc who composes original flute music and builds flutes using only hand tools and fire. They will speak about their relationship to instrument making and playing, what inspires them, and how the past influences their craft.

Leslie Ross's interest in instrument building began one day in 9th grade when she was allowed to bring her bassoon home for the first time. She promptly disassembled it, and had to take the next day off from school to put it back together. Early on in her life, her explorations as musician and maker were connected to the early music movement, which, still in its formative stages in the late 70's, advocated not just returning to early period treatises but to rediscovering period instruments--using the early instruments themselves (as compared to modern instruments) to teach and inform us how to play and interpret music of the time.

In part with the talk, Leslie will showcase the processes, both of bassoon making and of creating sound installations in a special exhibit at the Blue Hill Public Library in November and December. The five case exhibition will depict 1) measuring, planning and tool making; 2) preparation and first steps in working wood and metal; 3) stages of finished and near-finished instruments; 4) bocals (the S-shaped tapered metal tube that connects the reed to the instrument), reeds, reed-making and the tuning process; 5) explorations of sound beyond the constraints of a bassoon—and even of other conventional instruments.

Hawk Henries is a member of the Chaubunagungamaug band of Nipmuck, a people indigenous to what is now southern New England. He has been composing original flute music and making flutes using only hand tools and fire for over twenty 25 years.

Hawk is committed to music as a traditional art form and as a vehicle for building bridges of communication and mutual respect. He teaches and performs in a wide variety of settings: indigenous and international art festivals, museums, concert venues ,powwows, educational settings from kindergarten through university level, flute making workshops and private family gatherings.

Join in-person in the Howard Room by registering using the library's interactive online event calendar, or calling the library at 374-5515. Space is limited. To join on Zoom, click here to register. For more information, email Kayleigh at kayleigh.thomas@bhpl.net or visit www.bhpl.net.

https://hawkhenries.com/

http://leslieross.net/