Middle of April I sent out an email  (you might have seen in your inbox) containing four or five questions that would form the basis of a story planned for the May/June issue of The WholeNote, and inviting anyone who wished to respond, to complete the  questionnaire and mail responses to me at publisher@thewholenote.com. 

Well here are the fruits of that invite, both the replies that came in in time for publication in the May/June issue, and those that are still coming in, using the online form here. And the invitation is still open.

Responses are still coming in and being added, so consider yourself invited. We are hoping that this compendium of views can online, over time, help us share and compare as our music community, collectively and individually, finds our way through these gnarly times.

I hope you get the same pleasure out of reading it as I have putting it together. If you feel a little less alone at the end of it, that’s a good day’s work done. If you feel like adding your voice to the mix, better still.

David Perlman

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Born in Prague, Lenka Lichtenberg is a vocalist in six languages, composer and bandleader, with seven CD releases and several collaborations to her credit. Lenka is the recipient of the 2012 Canadian Folk Music Award for “Traditional Singer of the Year.”

1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)? 

Your mail caught me between two concerts for Festival Mitte Europa – one in Chemnitz, Germany, the other in Ostrov, Czech Republic. It is a festival dedicated to fostering harmonious relations between neighbours, the German and Czech people. It takes place in various towns and cities not too far from the border between the two countries. I found it fascinating that the "border" is now invisible; not even a sign! All of a sudden, the signs in a village are in German. It made me think of John Lennon…Imagine, there's no countries. I wish we had that in North America. I performed with my Czech colleagues, top Czech musicians David Doruzka (guitar) and Tomas Reindl (percussion). The audience was very reserved! Not a peep for my trio's two-set performance, and then…they bought ALL the CDs I had with me! 

2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member between now and September 7? 

I am off to Kenya with my family at the end of July to work in Bungoma, Kaptet and Kisa, in the Western province. At the beginning of our journey, there will be a music festival in Nairobi which I hope we can attend. I think this will be unlike anything I've seen before, and I am very excited! Also, I am always looking for ways to embrace global togetherness through my music, and who knows – it could inspire some new approaches in my writing or instrumentation. 

3. How about as a music maker/player?

In between trips this summer, I am spending all available time at Zolis Audio, working hard with Jim Zolis to finish mixing the next project “Lullabies from Exile” – a collaboration with the Iraqi-Israeli oud and violin virtuoso Yair Dalal. It is a very unusual project, as it intertwines two strands of Jewish music that were separated some 2000 years ago. I am really looking forward to having this done – it's taken over two years and three continents to get it to this point! And…I think it is magically beautiful. 

4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans?

The early fall will be devoted to promoting my most recent CD “Embrace.” I believe it is my strongest work yet, maybe a lucky number seven, and I am really thrilled with how it's turned out. It is the second album created with my amazing “Fray” band colleagues, Alan Hetherington (who co-produced it with me), Ravi Naimpally, Chris Gartner, John Gzowski and Ernie Tollar. From the first note, it sets a tone that I simply adore. It has now received some extraordinarily positive reviews and so I have high hopes for this creation! As well, with Fray “Redux,” I will be opening for the wonderful Jorge Drexler as part of the Small World Music Festival on October 3. That should be really nice, an interesting match of styles between us. 

WEBSITE

www.lenkalichtenberg.com

FACEBOOK

www.facebook.com/lenkalichtenbergmusic

TWITTER

@embracelenka

SOUNDCLOUD

"Laska, Boze, Laska": Czech folk song, recorded at "Embrace" release in Glenn Gould Studio (April 28, 2013) http://snd.sc/155U75y