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HAND for the holidays

posted December 17th, 2009

Duke University Hospital will ring in the holiday season with a host of festive, musical events to match the season. Health Arts Network at Duke (HAND) is sponsoring a concert series to celebrate a variety of traditions and cultures. The concerts will take place in the main lobby of the hospital on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Tuesday performances
December 22, Natalie Gilbert will play a repertoire of holiday favorites on the baby grand in the lobby. Natalie is the Musical Director for the American Dance Festival and is currently an Artist-in-Residence with HAND.

Friday performances
December 18, Osei Appiagyei and friends will present a Ghanian percussive concert in celebration of Kwanzaa. Osei is the Musical Director for African American Dance Ensemble and former master musician and educator for the Ghana Dance Ensemble of the University of Ghana-Legon and The Institute of African Studies.

The week of December 21 - 25

Beginning Monday, December 21, HAND will sponsor an artist every day of the week.

The Klezmer Band, South of Delancey, will present on Wednesday, December 23 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. in the Duke North Lobby. Their repertoire includes lively dance tunes, expressive instrumentals and Yiddish theater songs, folk songs and ballads, with side trips into Eastern European and other musical traditions.

Other performers during the week will visit the units and perform for patients at their bedsides.

Monday, December 21 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., Paula Snyder and Amber Smith, a mother-daughter guitar and vocal duo, will sing Hanukkah and traditional Christmas songs on the units. Paula, who recently released her debut CD, has extensive experience performing in healthcare facilities, and her daughter, Amber, just graduated from NC State and has performed at the Vatican with her school vocal group.

On Christmas Eve, current HAND Artist-in-Residence Paulo Lopes will stroll through the hospital floors playing guitar.

On December 25, Thomas Bradley’s Gospel Choir will be singing on the units. This choir has been performing on Christmas Day at Duke Hospital for more than 30 years.

For more information, contact Erin Dangler, Performing Arts Coordinator, at erin.dangler@duke.edu, or call 684-2007.