A Prairie Home Companion from American Public Media

Special Guests
Saturday, April 14, 2007

Frigg

Frigg, a fiddle-based group with Finnish and Norwegian heritage, combines elements of their respective folk traditions with touches of Appalachian and country & western. Some credit the gene pool for the band's impressive abilities: A number of Frigg's musicians represent one of Finland's best-known fiddle families — founders of the celebrated group JPP; others are members of a comparable Norwegian Hardanger fiddle clan. In any case, after dazzling Scandinavian audiences with their innovative arrangements, this exciting young ensemble is now winning followers across North America. Their latest recording is Oasis (NorthSide Records). The band is: Esko Järvelä (fiddle), Antti Järvelä (double bass, fiddle), Einar Olav Larsen (fiddle, Hardanger fiddle), Tero Hyväluoma (fiddle), Tuomas Logrén (guitar, dobro), and — representing the British Isles — Laura-Beth Salter (mandolin).

Prudence Johnson

That silky alto and striking style — you'd expect to find Prudence Johnson singing at a high-tone nightspot. And you might. But be it a concert hall, a little jazz club or A Prairie Home Companion, Pru is the perfect complement. As one music critic put it, "[There's] not a genre she hasn't interpreted with her ducky, sensual alto voice and terminally good taste." Her 10 album releases include Moon Country, featuring the music of Hoagy Carmichael, and 'S Gershwin. On the silver screen, she appeared in Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It, and in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion. On the music front, a new CD of French songs — pop to classical — with accordionist Dan Chouinard is in the works for later this year.

Todd Schwartzberg

When Todd Schwartzberg was growing up in Dallas, Texas, he thought he might become a pediatrician. His plans changed when he was a teenager. He saw a TV report about music therapy and knew that was the job for him. Todd went on to study at the University of Kansas - which was the first school in the country to offer a graduate degree in music therapy - and continued his education at the University of Minnesota. Since 2003, he has been on the faculty of Minneapolis' McPhail Center for Music, where he provides individual and group music therapy. He also teaches several early childhood arts classes. He serves as Government Relations Director for the Minnesota Music Therapy Association and sits on the Board of Directors of the Autism Society of Minnesota.