MERNA–Speaker Chris Sayre will present a program Nebraska’s Musical Smorgasbord: Music from various ethnic groups in Nebraska on April 9, 2018 at 1 p.m. at Anselmo-Merna School. This presentation is made possible by Humanities Nebraska, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and the Anselmo-Merna PTO as part of the HN Speakers Bureau.
Lincoln native Chris Sayre has been performing music professionally for over 40 years. He has dedicated much of that time to the promotion and preservation of traditional folk music from Western Europe and North America.
His awards include three time Folk Artist of the Year, Entertainer of the Year and Hall of Fame recipient, as well as several first-place finishes in contests throughout the Midwest. Presenting on Button Accordion, Concertina, Dulcimer, Guitar, Mandolin and saw, Chris endeavors to leave his audience with a greater appreciation of who we are and where we came from.
This program explores the rich diversity of folk music that has been a part of Nebraska’s history from the time it was a territory to the present day. Performing on the button accordion, concertina, dulcimer, guitar, mandolin, musical saw and zithers, Sayre invites his audience to experience the music of the ethnic groups that have called Nebraska home.
Nebraska’s Musical Smorgasbord: Music from various ethnic groups in Nebraska is one of approximately 300 programs offered through the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau. The more than 165 available speakers include acclaimed scholars, writers, musicians, storytellers and folklorists on topics ranging from pioneer heritage to ethics and law to international and multicultural issues, making it the largest humanities speakers’ bureau in the nation.
Speakers are available to any non-profit organization in Nebraska. Each program lasts 30 minutes to an hour, plus a question-and- answer period. The most frequent users of the HN Speakers Bureau are primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, libraries, museums and historical societies, agencies for the elderly, rural organizations, churches, arts organizations and ethnic organizations. Humanities Nebraska sponsors the largest Speakers Bureau program in the U.S. according to the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For information detailing the available speakers and guidelines for booking them, please access our website at www.humanitiesnebraska.org (Speakers section) or contact Humanities Nebraska at 215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 330, Lincoln, NE 68508, phone (402) 474-2131, fax (402) 474-4852 or e-mail [email protected].
