Glimpses of 7 of our musical guests back in early 2020, before the pandemic became our country's focus, focusing on songs of each related to earth, air, water, fire, and other essential elements of creation.

Claudia Schmidt & Sally Rogers are a soul-deep musical combination. Sally is perhaps more closely associated with the folk music genre, and while Claudia has done a lot of folk, she's also well-known and loved for her expeditions into the jazz world. Whenever they combine their voices & music, there is an alchemy that transmutes music into magic. Both tell stories & capture images to rivet the heart & guide us on a better, more fulfilling, path.

Sally Rogers has been a fountain of folk music for 4 decades (check out her 40 Years, 40 Songs collection), now sung all around the country & world. Her classics include Lovely Agnes, Touch of the Master's Hand, & Circle of the Sun, and there are ever-more greats coming. Her last visit with us was 2007. In addition to her work as a music teacher in schools, she's been a long-time co-host for the 3rd Friday Song Swap at Vanilla Bean in Pomfret, CT.

Phil Hoose writes songs that we all love and that other performers love to perform. His best-known, Hey, Little Ant, is a song, but also a book that has sold over 1 million copies in 10 languages. With a quirky eye for seeing the world differently, his songs intrigue, amuse, & enchant. An employee of The Nature Conservancy for decades, and the author of more than 10 books, including the inspirational Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, Phil's awards include the John Newbery Medal, Sibert Medal, and the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

A visit to this program the last 2 months before COVID-19, with brief selections from the 2019 interviews with Susan Salidor, The Fairest and Best, Particle Kid (J.

Song of the Soul broadcast retrospective of a simpler, less COVID-19, time, one year ago, in 2019, with Victoria Shoemaker (Bewitching), Kora Feder (Painting the Sky with Music), Peter Phippen (Living Music, Sacred Flute), Ira Levin of The Levins (Harmonizing With Lamed Vavniks, Hafiz, & The Gita), Sally Rogers (Happy 100th Birthday Pete Seeger), Pat Humphries of Emma's Revolution (Pete Seeger's Last Songs), Charlie King (Pete Seeger's Last Songs), and Annie Patterson (Pete Seeger's Last Songs).

There is a power & depth, a vibrant, evocative rootedness in the music of Claudia Schmidt. Over the 24 recordings Claudia has created has run the reflection of the earth & water of the Midwest, but also the freedom & inspiration of the wind & the stars above our entire planet. With lyrics, music, and voice to charm us all, Claudia channels enthusiasm, inspiration, & healing.

Two powerful, and badly neglected, forces in our national history around race are featured in Educated for Freedom: The Incredible Story of Two Fugitive Schoolboys Who Grew Up To Change a Nation by author & educator Anna Mae Duane. The 1800's debate between two students of the NY African Free School, James McCune Smith & Henry Highland Garnet, echoes to current issues.

Pat Humphries of Emma's Revolution was at Pete Seeger's bedside as he died, singing to him. Pat and Sandy O of Emma's Revolution, along with Sally Rogers, Charlie King, Annie Patterson, and Peter Blood, join in the post-intermission part of a concert to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Pete Seeger's birth, held April 27th in Northampton, MA, at the Unitarian Society, as a benefit for Climate Action Now MA, part of a wealth of events for the 100th anniversary.

1st part of a concert to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Pete Seeger's birth, held April 27th in Northampton, MA, at the Unitarian Society, as a benefit for Climate Action Now MA, part of a wealth of events for the 100th anniversary. This concert includes performances by Emma's Revolution, Sally Rogers, Charlie King, Annie Patterson, and Peter Blood.