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Perkins is a composer, conductor, and music educator from Fenton, MI. In 1938, a young folk music collector named Alan Lomax came from Washington, DC to record Michigan’s folk music traditions for the Archive of American Folk-Song at the Library of Congress. Lomax was particularly interested in the trove of ballads remembered by aging lumberjacks and Great Lakes sailors. In ten weeks, he recorded more than 120 performers from Detroit to the western Upper Peninsula. These recordings, along with the 1950’s recordings of Duane Starcher (recorded for WMUK Radio at Western Michigan University) were rich source material for an arrangement Perkins created in 2020 titled “TUEBOR SUITE.” The arrangement is for symphonic wind band, and has been performed dozens of times in the state and around the country.
For their public presentation, Perkins will sing these folk songs, accompanying themself on the guitar. During the residency, Perkins will also be composing a lyrical work based on the natural beauty and historical importance of the island, to be premiered at a later date.
This is a free workshop at the Station 256 Conference Room, located above the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center. #thisismackinac
