Armor & Sturtevant
Encyclopedia
Armor and Sturtevant were an American
husband and wife musical and recording artist duo that existed from 1991 to 2005. They lived and were based in Erie
, Pennsylvania
.
Kelly Armor: voice, flute
, bass flute
, fife
, pennywhistle
, chivoti, piano
, accordion
, concertina
, bodhrán
and various East African hand percussion instruments such as the kalimba and the kayamba.
Dave Sturtevant: voice, acoustic guitar
, electric guitar
, resophonic guitar
, banjo
, mandolin
, and fiddle
.
.
with David Hicks and Martin Bresnick
, and flute performance with Thomas Nyfenger. For 2½ years she lived with native families in Kenya
and Tanzania
, became fluent in Swahili
, and collected Pagan
, Islam
ic, and Christian
traditional songs, learning to play indigenous flutes and hand percussion instruments. She received a B.A. in Intercultural Studies and Ethnomusicology
from the Friends World Program of Long Island University
in 1988. She has given workshops and lectures on East African music and culture for the Library of Congress
, the National Flute Association
, and at Chautauqua Institution
. In 1999, she was hired as an oral historian by the Erie Maritime Museum
where she collected stories about Erie's lakefront history. She currently serves as the Director of Education and Folk Art at the Erie Art Museum
, where she has taught classes as part of the Earth Force Call to Action youth workshop program and has participated in more than 30 long-term residencies with pre-school, elementary, middle school, and adult students. She is active in the Unitarian Universalist Church, and has taught and performed there along with Tanzanian musician Fadhil Nkurlu, and appeared on their radio show Studio One with Karen Impola. Other collaborations with Nkurlu include classes at the University of Northern Iowa and Chautaugua Institute in New York State. She also has played with the Great American Gypsies
.
Dave Sturtevant learned singing and fiddle from his father (born in the Appalachian foothills of north central Pennsylvania), performing traditional ballads, camp songs, and Lutheran
hymns. He studied voice and trumpet in high school and college, and is self-taught on guitar. In 1986 he received a B.S. in Sound Recording Technology from the State University of New York at Fredonia
. In 1993 he was a finalist in the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Contest. His songs have been recorded and performed by other nationally touring folk musicians such as Joe Stead, Dan Duggan, John Kirk, Neal and Leandra, and Sue Trainor..
, WVBR's Bound for Glory series and internationally on the United States Information Agency
's Voice of America
. They have also appeared on the albums of Dan Berggren and the Great American Gypsies.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
husband and wife musical and recording artist duo that existed from 1991 to 2005. They lived and were based in Erie
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Musical genre and instrumentation
Armor & Sturtevant interpreted folk music from East Africa, Appalachia, and the British Isles, and wrote songs inspired and influenced by various folk traditions, classical music, bluegrass, rock and roll, and jazz. Their collaborative work utilized many instruments including:Kelly Armor: voice, flute
Western concert flute
The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
, bass flute
Bass flute
The bass flute is the bass member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Because of the length of its tube , it is usually made with a "J" shaped head joint, which brings the embouchure hole within reach of the player...
, fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, pennywhistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
, chivoti, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, concertina
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
, bodhrán
Bodhrán
The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
and various East African hand percussion instruments such as the kalimba and the kayamba.
Dave Sturtevant: voice, acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, resophonic guitar
Resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, and fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
.
History
Armor & Sturtevant toured across the United States and appeared in other countries, performing and offering workshops at opera houses, schools, churches, and multicultural events and festivals. They worked in collaboration with a ballet company, a women's chorus, a flute choir, an African drum and dance ensemble, Appalachian cloggers, a chamber orchestra and a children's choir. They were listed on the Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour Roster (and received two grants from them ), and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Roster for Arts in Education, and they have been favorably reviewed in the The Plain Dealer, Erie Daily Times, Dirty Linen Magazine, the Rockville Gazette and the Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
Biographies
Kelly Armor studied composition at Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
with David Hicks and Martin Bresnick
Martin Bresnick
Martin Bresnick is a composer of contemporary classical music, film scores and experimental music.-Education and early career:Bresnick was born and raised in the Bronx, and is a graduate of New York City's specialized High School of Music and Art. He was educated at the University of Hartford ,...
, and flute performance with Thomas Nyfenger. For 2½ years she lived with native families in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, became fluent in Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
, and collected Pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic, and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
traditional songs, learning to play indigenous flutes and hand percussion instruments. She received a B.A. in Intercultural Studies and Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
from the Friends World Program of Long Island University
Long Island University
Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...
in 1988. She has given workshops and lectures on East African music and culture for the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, the National Flute Association
National Flute Association
The National Flute Association , is the largest organization for flutists in the world. It is an association in the United States.It was founded by Mark Thomas.-External links:*...
, and at Chautauqua Institution
Chautauqua Institution
The Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit adult education center and summer resort located on 750 acres in Chautauqua, New York, 17 miles northwest of Jamestown in the western part of New York State...
. In 1999, she was hired as an oral historian by the Erie Maritime Museum
Erie Maritime Museum
Erie Maritime Museum is a maritime museum located on Presque Isle Bay in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first new PHMC museum in twenty years when it opened its doors on May 21, 1998...
where she collected stories about Erie's lakefront history. She currently serves as the Director of Education and Folk Art at the Erie Art Museum
Erie Art Museum
Erie Art Museum is an art museum in Erie, Pennsylvania with a collection of over 7,000 objects, including American ceramics, Tibetan paintings, Indian bronzes, contemporary baskets, and many other categories...
, where she has taught classes as part of the Earth Force Call to Action youth workshop program and has participated in more than 30 long-term residencies with pre-school, elementary, middle school, and adult students. She is active in the Unitarian Universalist Church, and has taught and performed there along with Tanzanian musician Fadhil Nkurlu, and appeared on their radio show Studio One with Karen Impola. Other collaborations with Nkurlu include classes at the University of Northern Iowa and Chautaugua Institute in New York State. She also has played with the Great American Gypsies
Charley Rappaport
Charley Rappaport is an American musician5, co-founder of the Balalaika and Domra Society of America2, which coordinates Russian balalaika and domra orchestras across the United States4....
.
Dave Sturtevant learned singing and fiddle from his father (born in the Appalachian foothills of north central Pennsylvania), performing traditional ballads, camp songs, and Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
hymns. He studied voice and trumpet in high school and college, and is self-taught on guitar. In 1986 he received a B.S. in Sound Recording Technology from the State University of New York at Fredonia
State University of New York at Fredonia
The State University of New York at Fredonia is a four-year liberal arts college located in Fredonia, New York, United States; it is a constituent college of the State University of New York...
. In 1993 he was a finalist in the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Contest. His songs have been recorded and performed by other nationally touring folk musicians such as Joe Stead, Dan Duggan, John Kirk, Neal and Leandra, and Sue Trainor..
Recording and broadcast
Armor and Sturtevant have produced recordings of their own music and performances of musicological interest from other parts of the world. Both of their CDs on the Tatema Music label have garnered air play on folk radio programs nationwide, including National Public Radio's Car TalkCar Talk
Car Talk is a radio talk show broadcast weekly on National Public Radio stations throughout the United States and elsewhere. Its subjects are automobiles and repair, and it often takes humorous turns...
, WVBR's Bound for Glory series and internationally on the United States Information Agency
United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...
's Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
. They have also appeared on the albums of Dan Berggren and the Great American Gypsies.
Past performances
- Blissfest, Cross Village, Michigan
- Baltimore Folk Music Society, Maryland
- Caffè LenaCaffè LenaLocated in Saratoga Springs, New York, Caffè Lena is the oldest continually running coffee house in the United States. Founded in 1960 by Bill and Lena Spencer, it features acoustic concerts and cultural events showcasing folk music, traditional music, and singer-songwriters of a wide range...
, Saratoga, New York - Grand River Folk Art Society, Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Central Pennsylvania Festival of the ArtsCentral Pennsylvania Festival of the ArtsThe Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is held each year in State College, Pennsylvania and on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. Penn State students commonly refer to the event as Arts Fest.-History:...
- Fredonia Opera House, Fredonia, New York
- Whitaker Center, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Bickford Theater, Morris Museum, Morristown, New Jersey
- Two Harbors Folk Festival, Minnesota
- Common Ground, Westminster, Maryland
- Shenandoah Music Festival, Orkney Springs, Virginia
- Frostburg State UniversityFrostburg State UniversityFrostburg State University is a four-year university located on a campus in Frostburg, Maryland, in Western Maryland, and is part of the University System of Maryland. FSU is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.-History:...
, Frostburg, Maryland - Reading Musical Foundation, Reading, Pennsylvania
- Kent State UniversityKent State UniversityKent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
Folk Festival, Kent, Ohio - Starwood FestivalStarwood FestivalThe Starwood Festival is a seven-day Neo-Pagan, New Age, multi-cultural and world music festival presented in mid- to late July. Approximately 1,500 people attend including staff, speakers and entertainers. The Starwood Festival is a camping event which holds workshops on a variety of subjects...
, Sherman, New York - The Great Blue Heron Music FestivalThe Great Blue Heron Music FestivalThe Great Blue Heron Music Festival is an annual festival held the first or second weekend of July in Sherman, New York, a small town in the Amish country side of Western New York. The Great Blue Heron Music Festival, or simply Blue Heron, as it is known, draws several thousand visitors throughout...
, Sherman, New York - Down East Folklore Society, Beaufort, North Carolina
- Tidewater Friends of Folk Music, Norfolk, Virginia
- Morgan County Arts Council, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
- Erie Summer Festival of the Arts, Pennsylvania
- Calliope Folk Music Society, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Fredericksburg Songwriters' Showcase 1998, Fredericksburg, VA
- GottaGetGon Folk Festival, Saratoga County, New York
- Westminster CollegeWestminster College, PennsylvaniaWestminster College is a liberal arts college located in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1852, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church...
, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania - First Congregational Church, River Edge, New Jersey
Discography
- 1993 - Spring Day (Tatema Music) - CD and cassette
- 1996 - You Dance Like You Drive (Tatema Music) - CD and cassette http://www.folkweb.com/armorandsturtevant
- 2003 - Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes - Erie Pennsylvania School District: Limited Edition Recording of the District Choir's Annual Concert (125 kids singing a Kristin Andreasson song and doing body percussion under Armor & Sturtevant's direction.)
- 2008 - next one by - Davy Sturtevant & Brenda Jean (Butch Bunny Records)
Performed as guest artists
- 1985 - Adirondack Green - Dan Berggren (remastered for CD in 2001) Sleeping Giant Records
- 1997 - Cloudsplitter - Dan Berggren (Sleeping Giant Records) Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange: review by Kerry Dexter of Peterborough Folk Music Society
- 2001 - Rooted in the Mountains - Dan Berggren, Dan Duggan and friends (Dave Sturtevant only) (Sleeping Giant Records) Daily Vault review by Duke Egbert
- 2004 - Before I Had A Red Tomato - Great American Gypsies (Caravan Recordings) Review by John R. Lindermuth in Rambles Magazine
- 2005 - Minerva - Dan Berggren (Sleeping Giant Records)
Musicological recordings
- 2001 - Vavaka: Contemporary Christian Composers of Madagascar (Erie Art MuseumErie Art MuseumErie Art Museum is an art museum in Erie, Pennsylvania with a collection of over 7,000 objects, including American ceramics, Tibetan paintings, Indian bronzes, contemporary baskets, and many other categories...
) - 2004 - Roho: Songs of the Spirit from East Africa (Erie Art Museum)
Film
- 2002 - Safe Harbor: A Story of the Underground Railroad - A Main Street Media Inc. Production in association with the Harry BurleighHarry BurleighHenry "Harry" Thacker Burleigh , a baritone, was an African American classical composer, arranger, and professional singer...
Society, the Northwest Pennsylvania Freedom Institute and WQLN Public Broadcasting of Northwestern Pennsylvania http://www.wqln.org/SafeHarbor/Film/Credits.htm