Master Piper Dick Hensold to Perform September 23 at the Somerville Armory Cafe

Somerville – Dick Hensold, “a master piper with an exquisite touch” (City Pages, Minneapolis, MN), will be presented by notloB Music at the Somerville Armory’s café, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville, on Wednesday, September 23, 8:00pm (doors 7:30).

Traditional and progressive string music patrons may remember notloB’s several productions at Unity on Williams Street. notloB is testing the Somerville waters for a possible return in the form of a regular series at the Armory. “The armory’s café and its larger space have great potential as a listening room and performance hall, respectively. Somerville music patrons are knowledgeable and very supportive”, says notloB’s Jeff Boudreau. Since 2007, notloB has presented some 200 mostly acoustic concerts in unique listening room spaces throughout the greater Boston area. The Armory’s 50-seat café would seem to be a fitting venue.

Dick Hensold is the leading Northumbrian smallpiper in North America, and for the past 20 years has performed and taught in England, Scotland, Japan, Canada, and across the United States. He has released numerous CDs as a member of the groups Piper’s Crow, Way Up North, The New International Trio, the Lyra Baroque orchestra, and with Ruth MacKenzie’s Kalevala.

His solo Northumbrian smallpipes CD Big Music for Northumbrian Smallpipes was released in 2007, featuring original works based on the traditions of the Northumbrian pipes. In 2006, he received the prestigious Bush Artist Fellowship.

The concert will feature Hensold on Northumbrian smallpipes (a quiet bagpipe from Northeast England), reel pipes (an indoor version of the Scottish Highland pipes intended for Scottish dance music), seljefløyte (Norwegian willow-flute), säckpipa (Swedish bagpipes), pibgorn (Welsh hornpipe), and several other instruments. He will play music in several traditional and historical styles, with particular emphasis on Cape Breton, early Scottish, and Northumbrian, but also including Scandinavian, medieval, and original music. The program also includes a couple of songs, neither of them in English, and a limited amount of dancing while seated. This will be a unique musical evening with one of America’s finest and most unusual traditional bagpipers.

Artist website: www.dickhensold.com

Admission is by free-will offering, suggested $10 students/seniors / $15-20 all others. Reservations through eventbrite.com are suggested. If not completely booked, seats will be available at the door the evening of the performance.

notloB Music also presents concerts in Cambridge, Arlington and Newton. See its full schedule at https://sites.google.com/site/notlobmusic. Tickets for all concerts are available at http://www.eventbrite.com/o/notlob-music-6730833315. For more information see its Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/notloBParlourConcerts/ - or email notlobreservations@gmail.com (please do not contact the venues).