Kite Hill
Encyclopedia
Kite Hill is a drum
, wind
, and string
troupe formed in January 2008, and currently based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They combine elements of baroque pop
, instrumental
and world music
.
The band released a single, “Tom Thumbtack,” on the Friends in Bellwoods II
compilation in August 2009. They are set to release their debut album, Rest & Run in spring 2011. Rest & Run is an exploration of potential and action that forms the first part of the series, "The Wild, Wild World of Wood, Wind and String."
According to the festival's website, the musicians and composers immerse themselves in the community, chairing "story-sharing and song-writing sessions", as well as performing a concert with and for the community. The finale of each concert is the song that was written during the day. In addition to the members of Kite Hill, participants in the festival included The Youngest (Amy Learmonth), Les Arbres (Timothy Fagan), and Casey Mecija of Ohbijou.
located in Sackville, New Brunswick
, and lovingly described in Sir G. D. Roberts' Poem, "Tantramar Revisited". The word Tantramar is derived from the Acadian French tintamarre, literally meaning "a great noise", in reference to the waterfowl which rested in the marsh in the spring and fall. Tantramar farm is also visited by wild birds in the transitional seasons, including red-wing blackbirds, ducks, blue herons, and Canadian geese. The land which rises to the north of the marsh at Tantramar has for 30 years been known as "Kite Hill" and serves as the namesake of the band.
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
, wind
Wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...
, and string
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
troupe formed in January 2008, and currently based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They combine elements of baroque pop
Baroque pop
Baroque pop, Baroque rock, or English baroque, often used interchangeably with chamber pop/rock, is a pop and rock music subgenre which originated in the mid-1960s in the United Kingdom and United States...
, instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
.
The band released a single, “Tom Thumbtack,” on the Friends in Bellwoods II
Friends in Bellwoods II
Friends in Bellwoods is a compilation album, released in 2009 by Out of This Spark as a benefit for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank. The album is a sequel to the 2007 compilation Friends in Bellwoods....
compilation in August 2009. They are set to release their debut album, Rest & Run in spring 2011. Rest & Run is an exploration of potential and action that forms the first part of the series, "The Wild, Wild World of Wood, Wind and String."
Current members
- Ryan Carley - piano, vocals
- Mika Posen - violin, backing vocals
- Anissa Hart - cello
- Tyler Belluz - double bass
- Steve Lappano - drums, percussion
- David Yoon - percussion
- Dennis Van Dine - clarinet, percussion
Performances & Tours
In August 2009 Kite Hill curated the inaugural edition of Inroads Festival. Inroads Festival focuses on bringing new music to rural communities in Ontario and consists of a "troupe of emerging artists from Toronto" who travel from location to location "in hopes of connecting deeply with the landscape, its people, and their stories."According to the festival's website, the musicians and composers immerse themselves in the community, chairing "story-sharing and song-writing sessions", as well as performing a concert with and for the community. The finale of each concert is the song that was written during the day. In addition to the members of Kite Hill, participants in the festival included The Youngest (Amy Learmonth), Les Arbres (Timothy Fagan), and Casey Mecija of Ohbijou.
Tantramar
The advent of the band centred on the Rural Landscape of Nassagaweya Township in Ontario, specifically the farm where Carley grew up. It was named "Tantramar" in 1978 in the spirit of the Acadian marshTantramar Marshes
The Tantramar Marshes is a National Wildlife Area on the southern part of the Isthmus of Chignecto, which joins Nova Scotia to New Brunswick and the Canadian mainland. It is the site of the historic Battle of Fort Beauséjour, the final chapter in the long battle for Acadia by the British and French...
located in Sackville, New Brunswick
Sackville, New Brunswick
Sackville is a Canadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.Mount Allison University is located in the town...
, and lovingly described in Sir G. D. Roberts' Poem, "Tantramar Revisited". The word Tantramar is derived from the Acadian French tintamarre, literally meaning "a great noise", in reference to the waterfowl which rested in the marsh in the spring and fall. Tantramar farm is also visited by wild birds in the transitional seasons, including red-wing blackbirds, ducks, blue herons, and Canadian geese. The land which rises to the north of the marsh at Tantramar has for 30 years been known as "Kite Hill" and serves as the namesake of the band.
External links
- Official Website
- Kite Hill at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Kite Hill at CBC Radio 3CBC Radio 3CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
- Kite Hill at Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....