Ephemera Ballads: Chamber-Folk Music with Emily Pinkerton and fivebyfive

Songwriter/banjo player Emily Pinkerton joins forces with fivebyfive to launch an album of chamber-folk music. Drawing on library collections and local lore, “Ephemera Ballads” brings ghost tales of the Hudson Valley to life over sparkling banjo and shimmering textures.

The piece was written for Rochester-based fivebyfive--a powerhouse ensemble of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, piano and bass---that champions living composers and community causes. 

About Emily:

Emily Pinkerton’s ballads and banjo experiments grow in a lush space between folk and chamber music. She is a founding member of the old-time vocal trio The Early Mays (International Acoustic Music Award Winners, NPR’s Mountain Stage Feature Performers).  Past chamber music projects include “Rounder Songs” (New Amsterdam Records) and “Looking for Violeta,” a folk opera about Chilean musician Violeta Parra. Emily’s lifelong love of teaching brought her to Albany in 2018 to teach Songwriting at The College of Saint Rose.

emilypinkerton.com

About fivebyfive:

Described as “classical turned loose in the toy store,” “top-flight,” and “imaginative,” fivebyfive is an award-winning, artist-led ensemble known for its impeccable musicianship and adventurous spirit. fivebyfive’s mission is to engage and inspire audiences in the collaborative, creative spirit of today’s chamber music. To realize its mission, fivebyfive commissions, performs, and records music by the most exciting living composers, advocating for creators who are underrepresented in the field and collaborating with partners across a wide array of disciplines.

fivebyfivemusic.com

“Ephemera Ballads” was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The piece is also supported in part by New Music USA. New York State Library’s Manuscripts and Special Collections, including its Broadside Ballad Collection, were an indispensable source of inspiration.