Event

KITKA in Menlo Park

Kitka is a women's vocal arts ensemble inspired by traditional songs and vocal techniques from Eastern Europe. The group is based in Oakland and has earned international recognition for its distinctive sound, exploring a vast palette of ancient yet contemporary-sounding vocal effects. The ensemble's earthy to ethereal timbres evoke an astonishing range of subtle to extreme inner states, instincts, and emotions.

They will be performing a new Wintersongs program with songs celebrating the Christmas holiday and the coming of the New Year, as well as a salute to the Chanukah treat of latkes. The concert also showcases non-religious songs of wintertime despair and mourning, as well as songs of merrymaking; songs spanning the Balkans, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Georgia; songs from Christian, Jewish, Muslim and pre-Christian traditions. The resulting tapestry of sound is a richly interwoven exploration of winter.

Kitka's 2012 Wintersongs Californian Tour is supported, in part, by grants from the James Irvine Foundation Exploring Engagement Fund, the City of Oakland Cultural Funding Program, and the Zellerbach Family Fund.