Waterville Senior High School orchestra students will be welcomed to the stage to open this special performance. 

Chamber orchestra Palaver Strings presents Songbook, a collaborative program featuring acclaimed jazz vocalist Vuyo Sotashe and Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Chris Patishall. “Songbook” celebrates the rich musical diversity of Sotashe’s home country South Africa, and explores connections between American jazz, South African folk traditions, and European classical music. Music will include traditional folk songs in Zulu, Sepedi, and Xhosa, classical works by Bongani Ndodana-Breen, Michale Moreane, and Bheki Mseleku, and originals by Vuyo Sotashe, in fresh arrangements for vocals, piano, and strings. 

Artist Information: Palaver Strings is a Grammy nominated, musician-led string ensemble and nonprofit based in Portland, ME. Palaver’s musicians share artistic and administrative leadership, guided by a passion for engaging new audiences, addressing social justice issues, and amplifying underrepresented voices. Equally committed to performance and education, Palaver presents a full season of live concerts and serves hundreds of students each year at the Palaver Music Center in Portland. Palaver Strings is represented by Ariel Artists.

Chris Pattishall is a pianist and composer known for his stylistic breadth, sense of detail, and surrealist inclinations. His debut album Zodiac was called “a startling achievement” by the New York Times. He is a featured performer on a number of film scores, including Everything Everywhere All At Once and Knives Out and he co-composed the score to Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. 
Vuyo (Vuyolwethu) Sotashe is an award-winning New York-based jazz vocalist and composer, originally from the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Since moving to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar, Sotashe has performed with jazz legends including Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jimmy Heath, Al Jarreau, and Winard Harper. He has appeared at Montreux Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, and Newport Jazz Fest, and was the first male vocalist to place in the finals of the Thelonious Monk Institute competition.