Sunday, September 3, at 3:00 p.m., in our sanctuary, Daniel Ward, Heidi Swedberg, Craig McClelland, and John Bartlit will be presenting songs from Hawai’i and around the world that encourage participation and engagement. No ticket is needed but donations will be taken up for Maui recovery.
There will be a few songs where the audience will be invited to play along, so those with ukuleles are encouraged to bring their tuned instruments.
Doors will open at 2:45 p.m.
Donations will go to Habitat Maui and the Hawai’i Community Foundation. If you cannot attend but would like to make a donation, send or bring a check to church with “Maui” in the memo line. Or you can go to our Donation form to One Time Donation / Other Special and put “Maui” in the box beside the amount.
Daniel Ward and Heidi Swedberg have been teaching and playing ukulele together since 2009, and have helped start many ukulele programs, in libraries across Los Angeles, an orphanage in Haiti and schools from Mexico to Massachusetts. They are contributing editors at Ukulele Magazine, and enjoy performing at music festivals around the world.
Daniel Ward and Heidi will be presenting songs from Hawai’i and around the world that encourage participation and engagement . There will be a few songs where the audience will be invited to play along, so those with ukuleles are encouraged to bring their tuned instruments.”
Daniel Ward is an accomplished musician, composer, and educator, who has become one of the country’s top clinicians and performers on the ‘ukulele circuit’. He is known for his command of Latin styles and teaches right-hand techniques, adapting his style and knowledge from the classical and flamenco guitar. He has been a featured performer and workshop instructor at festivals across the country, including the Reno Ukulele festival, West Coast Ukulele retreat, Wine Country Ukulele Festival, San Diego Ukulele Festival, Port Townsend Ukulele festival, Albuquerque Ukulele festival, and many more. With his partner Heidi Swedberg, he has performed as an artist in residence at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ, and performed at Children’s Music Festivals around the country, including concerts in Los Angeles, New York City, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, and the Austin City Limits Festival. Heidi and Daniel were also featured performers at Music China in Shanghai in 2012.
As a guitarist, Daniel has toured the world playing flamenco guitar with Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra (1997-2000) as well as performing with the flamenco dance ensembles of Maria Benitez, Dance Espana, and Yjastros (1994-present), and 20 years playing rock-n-roll electric guitar for Celebrity Enterprises corporate entertainment (1994-present).
As a commissioned classical composer, Daniel has penned two string quartets for the Del Sol ensemble of San Francisco, and a four-hand piano piece. He has scored music for film, television, and video.
In the field of recording, he has won awards (Parent’s Choice NAPPA, NM Recording Arts, Fids, and Kamalies) on both albums he collaborated with Heidi Swedberg and is a sought-after producer and arranger. His own CD “After the Storm” is an award-winning virtuosic performance of original compositions masterfully played on electric and flamenco guitar.
Heidi SWEDBERG is passionate about people, which is why she loves the ukulele- the people’s instrument. Encouraging all ages to engage and connect through music, she teaches, writes, lectures and performs for the youngest children to older adults.
She has been a performer for more than 30 years, working in music, film and television, and is known for her role as “Susan” on Seinfeld.
Born in Hawaii, her first ukulele came from the Easter Bunny when she was 5 years old. Her family relocated to New Mexico, the place she considers home. Currently based in Santa Fe, Heidi and Daniel have helped start uke programs internationally: in schools, hospitals, orphanages, churches and libraries. They love making new friends while performing and teaching at music festivals around the globe.
Heidi is a contributing editor at Ukulele Magazine, where she writes about community and connectedness. She collaborates with her husband Daniel Ward on recordings and instructional books, including “’Tis the Season for ‘Ukulele” and “Color-Along Ukulele: a Method Book for those Drawn to Play”.
John Bartlit is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and life-long New Mexican. He has spent decades as a classical percussionist, composer, teacher, accompanist with professional dance companies, and producer. For the past 30 years he has primarily made his living as a jazz drummer whose talents richly enhance the performances of other musicians, however, this does not begin to describe the phenomenon that is John. A comic and musical virtuoso, he has been known to flawlessly play bass, drums, glockenspiel and kazoo at the same time, and is the guiding force behind Sküumbaag (the heavy-metal vaudeville sensation). He is as skilled with an electric guitar as he is a church organ, his xylophone chops are mind blowing, and you haven’t lived till you’ve heard him play the saw.
John took up ukulele about 30 years ago, and is recording an album of epic qualities. As a teacher, his palpable joy is infectious. You will leave his classes in awe and inspired.
Craig McClelland has spent the last few decades playing music in highly diverse venues. From improv duos to symphony orchestras, performing in dive bars and concert halls, Craig makes music that both entertains and challenges his audiences. A professional musician (bass, guitar, ukulele, and tuba) and instructor with over 30 years experience, Craig studied bass at Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles and has a BA in Music from the University of New Mexico and a MA in Humanities from California State University-Dominguez Hills. Craig has been honored and fortunate to perform and teach at distinctive events including The West Coast Ukulele Retreat, The Santa Fe New Uke-Culinary Fiesta, The Albuquerque Ukekopelli Festival, and The Rocky Mountain Uke Fest among others. He has also been involved on the local level, having co-founded the Door County Ukulele Society and is past president of the Santa Fe Ukulele and Social Club.
Craig frequently delves into the world of theatre providing acting and instrumental skills to many theatre companies including Peninsula Players Theatre and Northern Sky Theater (formerly American Folklore Theatre). In addition to teaching and theatre work, Craig can be seen around the country with musical ensembles The Vespus Marimba Band, Sukey Jump Band, Crossing 32nd Street, Links Ensemble, Gazebo Guys, and America’s only heavy-metal vaudeville troupe, Skumbaag. In 2012, Skumbaag was chosen as Ensemble in Residence for the University of New Mexico International Composers Symposium, featuring a wide range of Craig’s music, including selections from his original musical, The Lubbock Lights.