Fiddlers, Guitars, Cuatros, Singers, and Steel Drums at CHS Free Outdoor Summer Concerts

This summer, the traditional sounds of French Canada, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean are featured during three free outdoor concerts on the beautiful grounds of The Connecticut Historical Society. The performances, which will be held June 16, July 21, and August 18, begin at 6 p.m. at the CHS at One Elizabeth St. in Hartford (open for seating and picnicking at 5 p.m.). Visitors are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs, blankets and food. Rain dates are on the following Friday each month. For more information contact Lynne_Williamson@chs.org.

The series kicks off June 16 with a concert by Daniel Boucher, a dynamic and accomplished French Canadian fiddler, singer, and composer. He is joined by French Canadian folk guitarist and singer Josée Vachon, and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Ross. Daniel has revitalized French folk music within New England’s large French-heritage community by organizing and performing at countless community events. He received a Connecticut Office of the Arts Folk Arts Fellowship in 2015.

On July 21, Alfred Rivera and Amor y Cultura perform Puerto Rican musica tipica, traditional jibaro music of the countryside and mountains, featuring bongos, guitar, guiro (gourd scraper), vocals, and cuatro - the signature instrument of this style. These musicians grew up surrounded by Puerto Rican’s traditional folk music including the décima, an improvised sung poetry.

The final concert in the series takes place August 18 featuring Hartford Steel Symphony under the musical direction of Kelvin Griffith. Known as the area’s premier Caribbean steel band, the group plays traditional steel pans (plus one drum), and performs at the annual Taste of the Caribbean and West Indian Independence Day Parade and Festival.

The CHS Third Thursday concert series celebrates 25 years of the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CCHAP). This statewide initiative documents diverse cultural traditions and shares the artistic creations and community cultural practices of folk artists living throughout Connecticut. CCHAP began at the Institute for Community Research in Hartford in 1991 and moved to the Connecticut Historical Society in 2015. The Program partners with many traditional artists and communities, contributes to other activities at the CHS, and develops new programming areas such as educational outreach with folk artists.

The concerts have received generous support from the Evelyn W. Preston Memorial Trust Fund, Bank of America N.A., Trustee. Additional project funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Connecticut Office of the Arts/DECD, and the Connecticut Historical Society.