This is suggested wording for program notes.
Please use this only if you've booked the full trio.

If you booked the duo, you'll want the duo notes instead.
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Three women plus twelve instruments equals one good time, and you're in for a very special treat! Karen Hirshon, Rachel Hall, and Linda Littleton play a wide variety of ethnic folk music, and you'll hear selections that range from lively Irish jigs and down-home American reels to hard-driving Klezmer freilachs, haunting Gypsy melodies, and exotic Balkan dance tunes. Throughout their performance, Simple Gifts puts their own distinctive stamp on traditional tunes, creating some of the finest arrangement in folk music today.

Hirshon, Hall, and Littleton have performed as Simple Gifts since 1995. The group was founded by Littleton in 1989 and has performed throughout the mid-Atlantic region, including appearances at the Smithsonian, Longwood Gardens, Hershey Theater, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Ontario Center for Performing Arts, Old Songs Festival, Pennsylvania Consort Society, and dozens of schools and colleges throughout the region. Karen and Linda live in State College PA, and Rachel is based in Philadelphia.

Simple Gifts has recorded six albums. Their newest, "Crossing Borders: Music of Many Lands," was recognized by Indie Acoustic as including "one of the best songs of 2005." Their previous album, "Time and Again," won a bronze star (third place) in the Crossroads Music Awards. Their recordings include traditional music from Romania, Hungary, Russia, Bulgaria, Greece, Ireland, Scotland, France, Sweden, Denmark, and America, plus originals composition by each group member.

Welcome to the concert. Please turn off any cell phones, pagers, and watch alarms for the show. The musicians will be available during intermission and after the concert for visiting and album signing. You may contact them at 814/238-8048, linda@simplegiftsmusic.com, or www.simplegiftsmusic.com. Relax and enjoy the concert!