Chain of Wooded Mountains: Balkan Music in the Catskills

Transcribed by Jerome Kazlauskas

Brett Barry  0:03  
In late September, the basketball court at Shandaken's Glenbrook Park becomes a community dance floor; where area residents and visitors are transported through music to Eastern Europe. This year marks the third anniversary of the Balkan Mountains Music Festival, but the concert series started years earlier; after a fire destroyed the Phoenicia Library in 2011. Library trustee [Beth Waterman] explains.

Beth Waterman  0:33  
Well, the Phoenicia Library burned in March of 2011. It moved to a temporary location while we raised money and rebuilt the library; and when we reopened, we did a survey of the community to see what they would like us to present. It's called our plan of service. Music was one of the things they wanted to see.

So, in an effort to do some music that didn't duplicate other music in the area, we started doing some very unusual music from exotic countries. We started with Georgian polyphonic singing.

Brett Barry  1:16  
Samantha Awand-Gortel was at that concert. She's the Phoenicia Branch Manager for Ulster Savings Bank, which sponsors this [now] annual event.

Samantha Awand-Gortel  1:25  
First of all, I love watching live music because I think it's just so cool to watch people play an instrument, especially if you can't. The other cool thing about the ... the first series that I went to the Cabin Fever Series was that the instruments are very similar to what we use, but there was also a lot that were like you've never seen the names of them I can't even think of right now. But again, it's just a very different experience and going to listen to a, you know, four-piece band: drums, bass, guitar, singer, you know, so it's a little ... it's totally different experience, but it's really cool culturally to ... to see those differences. We just also really enjoy sponsoring things that are of a cultural experience, artistic experience ... so this kind of encompasses both, you know, as a mutual savings bank, we don't have any stockholders. Our investment is in to our customers and our community. You know, we like to support these kind of events as the Balkan Fest, Cabin Fever Series, and other cultural experiences, artistic experiences or educational experiences in the area.

Brett Barry  2:22  
What's the Cabin Fever Series? Is this part of that? Is this that? Did it start in the winter? How did that come about?

Beth Waterman  2:28  
The Cabin Fever Series was the series of concerts we had before the pandemic that were held in the Phoenicia Library in the winter; and, you know, once COVID came, we realized we couldn't have any more concerts in the Phoenicia Library. It was ... and also, the number of people we could see in the Phoenicia Library was quite limited. So, we moved to this outdoor venue and we decided. The Balkan Mountains Music Festival would be great where we could have lots of brass and ... and a big space for dancing.

We started three years ago and it's been growing every year. One amusing anecdote from the first year when they ... when all the musicians arrived, they stood around and they looked at the pavilion and they looked at the mountains and they said, "This is just like the Balkans."

Brett Barry  3:30  
While according to your material, Balkan is Turkish for chain of wooded mountains. So, it makes sense.

Beth Waterman  3:36  
Exactly.

Brett Barry  3:37  
Yeah.

Beth Waterman  3:39  
We have dance instruction at 3:30, and then this year we're having four bands and it extends until about 7:00. When one of the unusual things about this event is that everybody holds hands and dances in a circle and there's something about a whole lot of people who are enjoying the same experience that really just creates a sense of community that's, I think, very striking.

Brett Barry  4:10  
And they're all experiencing something new and unusual together, so that probably helps as a kind of like a bonding experience, right?

Beth Waterman  4:16  
Exactly. It's the union of music and magic.

Brett Barry  4:21  
Hasn't been difficult finding people who play this type of music to come to the festival each year?

Beth Waterman  4:26  
We're really fortunate to have a person named Matthew Fass, who is a music promoter and he had a festival in Kingston, basically Eastern European music that was wonderful, so he has the connections and we hire Max to put it together for us.

Brett Barry  4:43  
We met Matthew, a.k.a. Max Fass, at last year's Balkan Music Fest and asked him why Balkan music.

Max Fass  4:52  
For me, I have loved the music now for about 25 or 30 years. I used to listen ... I live in California. I listened to ... used to ... the UC Berkeley station and I heard the mysterious voices of Bulgaria was my first ... first encounter really with that, and then I started to hear more of the style, and then in the '90s, we used to rent videos from our local video store and one of the movies we rented was called "In the Time of the Gypsies" by Emir Kusturica; and at that point, I ... I fell in love with the style of music and the ... and the feeling of the music. So, I decided at that point to play accordion. Take out the accordion and play this Eastern European music. We're in the foothills of the Catskills here in Glenbrook Park, right outside of Shandaken, Phoenicia ... the definition that I looked up said or, you know, that I've always known was "a chain of wooded mountains or, you know, the wooded mountains basically." So, when you have a Balkan Mountains Music Festival, it's a little redundant. But yeah, there's something about this little nook right here, just outside of ... right off of 28 that ... I've been to Eastern Europe at least 15 times and there's a ... there's a flavor here that it's very similar to what I've experienced in Eastern Europe.

Brett Barry  6:08  
And Bulgarian musician [Nikolay Kolev] agreed.

Nikolay Kolev  6:11  
My name is Nikolay Kolev. The name of my band is Cherven Traktor, which means a red tractor in English. I'm originally from Bulgaria [Central Bulgaria], which is known as the Rose Valley. I'm just from that place. Right now, I mean, the last 28 years we lived in New York City ... in New York City, but recently we moved to Wisconsin actually in the certain part of Wisconsin that borders with Illinois. We still do projects with New York; in New York area with local musicians where I am from ... a little forest in Ratnapura, which we call Balkan ... Balkana. It's very similar. The landscape: trees, mountains ... the instrument I play gadulka is a typical for my region in my village named Karavelovo. Many people play gadulka and the time I was like 10 years old maybe over 50 people play this instrument. So, I learned from them for us. In the Rose Valley, we are doing this festival like this similar and people from the United States come here to learn from the local people, you know, dance called gay dancing to be part of it.

Brett Barry  7:47  
More in a moment. But first, a word from our sponsors.

Mollie Zoldan  7:53  
A treasure within the hamlet of Phoenicia, Ulster Savings Bank is a proud supporter of this podcast. Visit them at 58 Main Street. Call them at 845-688-5965 or online at ulstersavings.com. Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender. Thanks also to the 52-mile Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway. For maps, itineraries, and links to area restaurants, shops, and accommodations, visit sceniccatskills.com. Kaatscast is sponsored by Briars & Brambles Books. The go to independent book and gift store in the Catskills, located in Windham, New York, right next to the pharmacy, just steps away from the Windham Path. Open daily. For more information, visit briarsandbramblesbooks.com or call 518-750-8599.

Brett Barry  8:43  
This year's Balkan Mountains Music Festival returns to Glenbrook Park in Shandaken, New York [Saturday, September 23rd from 3:30 to 7:00]. You can kick up your heels to the music of Eva Salina, MacNCheez Balkan PowerTrio, Bourbon & Breast Milk, and Pontic Firebird. The Balkans, by the way, are named for the Balkan Mountains that stretch across Bulgaria, but the region doesn't stop there. Other countries on the peninsula include Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia among others. At last year's event, I spoke with Kathy Goldman of Macedonian descent, who traveled from Rockland County to hear music from the Balkans.

Kathy Goldman  9:30  
My parents were from Macedonia. I was born in Syracuse, but they were culturally involved in the Macedonian culture, as well as the ... the church ... the Eastern Orthodox Church up there. So, that's where, you know, I kind of learned all the dances and learn about the music and we always play Macedonian music at home. There are mountains in Macedonia; and in fact, I visited my father's village, which was called Lushnjë and there was a mountain similar to this actually. So, I kind of feel at home right now.

Brett Barry  10:12  
Back in Phoenicia, I asked Beth Waterman if she thought this Balkan Catskills tradition will continue.

Beth Waterman  10:19  
Well, I hope so. I think there is a community of people who enjoy Balkan music and come all the way to Phoenicia, who aren't local to the area. I'm hoping that more people from the Catskills will come to join us this year.

Brett Barry  10:33  
Yeah, I went last year and it was a lot of fun; very cool music and I remember someone from the country of Georgia maybe who had made some kind of cheese bread, which was outstanding. So, that was an added bonus and I think you were serving it, Beth?

Beth Waterman  10:49  
Yes, we had. We had a woman living here from Georgia [The Republic of Georgia], who made khachapuri, which is a national dish in the Republic of Georgia. She has since moved away, but I'm very much hoping that she will be able to come back for this and bring with her some cheese bread. We try to make it ... into a real kind of festive atmosphere.

Brett Barry  11:12  
Including your own garb as I recall from last year.

Beth Waterman  11:15  
Yes, I just bought a new outfit.

Brett Barry  11:20  
So, for no other reason to go to this festival ...

Beth Waterman  11:24  
... yourself from the thrift shop and find ...

Yeah, tried it on ... Balkan Fest!

Brett Barry  11:38  
To see Beth's new Balkan inspired outfit and to hear live Balkan music for yourself, head over to Shandaken's Glenbrook Park; September 23rd from 3:30 to 7:00; and if you'd like to start your day with another classic Catskill scene, don't miss the 19th Annual Margaretville Cauliflower Festival! That's in Margaretville from 11:00 to 4:00. Kaatscast will have a booth there. So, please stop by and say hello! Kaatscast is a biweekly production of Silver Hollow Audio. Please subscribe, give us a rating [especially if you like us], and sign up for our companion newsletter. All that and more at kaatscast.com. Until next time, I'm Brett Barry. Thanks for listening.