35th Parallel

Saturday, November 8 @ 8PM

Admission: $12 or free with a 2008 Passport

Crossing Borders LIVE, WVBR’s multicultural radio concert series is pleased to feature 35th Parallel, the New England based duo of Mac Ritchey and Gabe Halberg with a signature MediterrAsian sound.

The duo caught the attention of producer Denice Karamardian when they performed at the Syracuse Center in winter 08, and was introduced to an enthusiastic Ithaca audience for a special Crossing Borders presentation on the blizzardy eve of Feb 10th, 2008. The ensemble’s name came from the latitude line intersecting the regions that inspire their music: the Middle East, North India, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the United States. With the Middle Eastern oud, the Indian tabla, and a variety of other non-western instruments, the duo weaves a sonic soundscape of original and traditional songs.

35th Parallel is a juried artist with the Vermont Arts Council and listed on the New England States Touring Roster with the New England Foundation for the Arts. Their music has been used in numerous documentaries and radio broadcasts. Their 2003 debut Cd, The Green Vine struck a chord...

The duo is riding high on acclaim for its debut CD, “The Green Vine,” easily one of the best Vermont CDs of 2003 and one of the most distinctive discs to come out of the Green Mountain State in recent memory….The twosome seduces with a gorgeous arrangement of a traditional “Armenian Wedding Dance” and such stunning original compositions as the hypnotic “Eracinos” and the pretty closer, “Mehfil,” which marries southern Appalachia with northern India with impressive results.

...Burlington Free Press

The subsequent 2006 release of Crossing Painted Islands was received with even more enthusiasm:

Together the partners compose melodies based on themes from the cultures the music originates from. Listening to "Crossing Painted Islands" is an aural adventure into far off map locals. It's a Google Earth for the ears and it's very successful. …So good is "Crossing Painted Islands" that I suspect if the many warring factions in the Middle East could get their hands on a copy and play that from their minarets there'd be a lot less fighting.

...Times Argus

Gabe Halberg has studied music with two of India’s finest tabla masters. He began his studies in 1993 at the Ali Akbar College of Music in California under the guidance of Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, receiving a degree in Tabla Composition in 1995. Since 1997, Gabe’s musical training has continued with Pandit Samir Chatterjee in New York City. Gabe also plays tar and jaw harp and is dedicated to spreading knowledge of the tabla throughout New England, teaching in both Vermont and New Hampshire.

Mac Ritchey (once referred to as a "musical Swiss army knife") is a multi-instrumentalist. Studying electronic music at Oberlin College and anthropology at Brandeis University, Mac has been influenced by a vast palette of musical traditions and genres. Guitar was his primary instrument for over 20 years, though Mac also plays a variety of percussion and stringed instruments and currently studies oud with Alan Shavarsh Bardezbanian. As the proprietor of Possum Hall Recording Studios, Mac is deeply involved in promoting music throughout New England. Working with clients whose projects run the gamut of genres, Mac brings a wealth of experience to both the studio and the stage.

For more information about 35th Parallel, go to: www.35thparallel.com. For interest in sponsorship for the program, contact Denice Karamardian at 607-275-0021.