On the longest night of 2013, celebrate the winter solstice with traditional and original tunes, songs and poetry, featuring Lopez residents Stanley and Kip Greenthal, with Christos Govetas and Kim Goldov. A tradition for many years, Stanley Greenthal has brought a variety of musicians to perform with him at the Lopez Center for Community and the Arts.  This year, Stanley’s ensemble has enjoyed creating new instrumental compositions and arrangements of seasonal songs, many of which will be heard for the first time at this concert on December 21, 7:30 p.m. at Lopez Center for Community and the Arts.  Stanley, Kip and long time musical friend Christos welcome the newest member of their group, Kim Goldov, who has a special touch on the violin.  Since Kim lives in Seattle, the group has been able to rehearse weekly and enjoy each other’s company and musicianship.

Internationally acclaimed songwriter and instrumentalist Stanley Greenthal stretches musical borders from Scotland, Ireland and Brittany to Greece and the Balkans.  He sings and plays guitar, bouzouki, and laouto (Greek lute), while Kip Greenthal adds harmony vocal and percussion.  Sparked by Christos’s hypnotic clarinet and oud, and Kim’s soulful violin playing- new original compositions, Breton round dances, and Cretan syrtos create a blazing solstice hearth for this unique winter evening.

Christos Govetas has performed extensively in the U.S., Canada and Greece.  He sings and plays clarinet, oud and bouzouki and performs regularly with his group Dromeno in Seattle, and across Canada and the U.S.  Christos is the 1999 recipient of the prestigious Northwest Folklife Fellowship Award honoring his cultural contribution to the Greek-American and Folk dance communities.  He also recorded and performed with Bill Frisell’s group, The Intercontinentals.

One of Seattle’s most versatile musicians, Kim Goldov currently plays violin in several groups specializing in folk music from around the world, including the trio North Sea (fiddle tunes from the Shetland islands and Norway), and the popular Balkan dance band / party music extravaganza, the Bucharest Drinking Team.  He also plays klezmer music from eastern Europe, and was a member of Yeni Ses (traditional and modern folk music of Turkey and beyond).

For more info, visit www.lopezcenter.org.

Tickets are $15 adults, $6 youths 6 to 17, kids 5 and under free.

Purchase tickets from Community Center office, Paper Scissors on the Rock, Blossom Organic Grocery and Lopez Book Shop.