WHAT: Ghost Stories adn Humorous Anecdotes Told by Professional Kentucky Servants (Doctors, lawyers, School Teachers, Sheriffs)

WHO: Lynwood Montell

WHEN: Tuesday, March 27, 2:00p.m. - 3:30p.m.

WHERE: Student Center Room 230

Open to the public, refreshments will be served. Sponsored by the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

About the Lynwood Montell:

Professor Montell appears courtesy of the Kentucky Humanities Council.

William Lynwood Montell taught at Western Kentucky University from 1969 to 1999. He is the author of 27 books, including Saga of Coe Ridge, Ghosts Along the Cumberlands, Don't Go Up Kettle Creek, and Singing the Glory Down. He no longer teaches university classes, but continues writing books and doing lectures and storytelling presentations. For many years he has been featured as one of the statewide speakers sponsored by the Kentucky Humanities Council. Since his retirement he has published Ghosts Across Kentucky (2000), Haunted Houses and Family Ghosts of Kentucky (2001), Tales From Kentucky Lawyers (2003); Tales From Tennessee Lawyers (2005); Reminisces and Reflections: African American in the Kentucky-Tennessee Upper Cumberland Since the Civil War (with Wali Kharif, 2005); Grassroots Music in the Upper Cumberland (2006); Tales from Kentucky Doctors (2008); Civil War in the Kentucky-Tennessee Upper Cumberland (2008) and Tales from Kentucky Funeral Directors (2008).

In the summer of 2001, Professor Montell was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, located in Renfro Valley, Kentucky, and in March 2003, he received the Governor's Arts Award in the folk Heritage category, an award based on the books he has written that focus on local life and culture. In his words, 'As I tell people, I could care less writing about kings, queens, and presidents, I write about local culture, life, and times as described by persons whom I interview during the research/writing process.'

The Oyama and Nitta duo, known for their exquisite and powerful music performance with Tsugaru Shamisen (a banjo-like Japanese instrument), will come to the University of Kentucky’s Memorial Hall from Japan to hold a concert at 3 pm on Sunday, April 1. This is a kick-off event to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the gift of cherry blossom trees from Japan to the US. Tickets for this concert are now available at the Student Center ticket office: http://getinvolved.uky.edu/TicketOffice/ticketInfo.html  Tickets are $10 for the general audience and $5 for students.  You can buy them by phone or in person at the student center.  

You can watch their sample performance here. Download the flyer.

About the Artists

The Oyama x Nitta Duo is comprised of two of Japan’s foremost shamisen performers, Yutaka Oyama and Masahiro Nitta. Using a creative and innovative approach to the traditional sounds of the shamisen, the duo performs classic and original scores with virtuosic improvisations that display the versatility of the instrument. With roots in Aomori and Hokkaido respectively, Oyama and Nitta both began studying the shamisen at an early age and have won numerous tsugaru shamisen contests in Japan. Oyama x Nitta Duo performs regularly in Japan and abroad, delivering its unique sound to audiences throughout the world.



Yutaka Oyama, a third generation Tsugaru shamisen player of the Oyama school, hails from Aomori—the epicenter of rich folkloric music. Oyama is a two-time winner (2001, 2002) of the National Folkloric Music Association’s Tsugaru Shamisen Contest in Japan, and has visited many countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia as part of cultural exchange programs of the Japan Foundation which contribute to the popularization of Japanese culture. In addition to live performances, he has recorded albums, commercials, and video game software. In 2003, he formed the group Soothe for Tsugaru shamisen, Japanese taiko, guitar, bass, and drum. The ensemble has released three albums: Soothing (2004), Habitual (2006), and Bolinho De Arroz (2009).



Masahiro Nitta is a second-generation Tsugaru shamisen player of the Nitta school who began his studies at the age of 14 with the encouragement of his father Hiroshi Nitta. Nitta won the Tokyo National Tsugaru Shamisen Championship, Junior and Senior High School Division, and went on to win the Kanagi National Tsugaru Shamisen Championship twice (2000, 2001), as well as the National Tsugaru Shamisen Contest (2002). He has recorded several albums, including Shamisen Kid, which he released in 2000 while still in high school. Nitta has performed with a number of celebrated musicians including his father, Minneapolis-based guitarist Dean Magraw, the Monsters of Shamisen with Californian shamisen players Kevin Kmetz and Mike Penny, and the Esoragoto Band, which includes Japanese taiko, bass and saxophone. Nitta has toured extensively throughout Asia, Europe, and the US.