Press Release

Oscar Rios Pohirieth will present “Andean Folk Music and Cultures of South America” on April 3, at 7 p.m. at Morton-James Public Library Kimmel Gallery, 923 1st Corso.

Humanities Nebraska (HN) provides major funding for this program. HN receives support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nebraska State Legislature, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and private donations like the Morton-James Public Library’s Harry and Grace Moller Endowment.

In this program, listeners will experience the Andean cultures of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Chile through an acoustic journey and storytelling.

The founder and director of the award-winning Lincoln-based Andean musical group Kusi Taki (Quechua for Enchanting Music) will play traditional South American instruments including the Quena (flute), Zampoñas (panpipes), Charango (ten-stringed small guitar) and Bombo (goatskin drum) and sing in Spanish and Quechua to bring alive the cultures and history of the indigenous peoples of the Andes.

“Andean Folk Music and Cultures of South America” is one of approximately 300 programs offered through the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau. The more than 165 available speakers include acclaimed scholars, writers, musicians, storytellers and folklorists on topics ranging from pioneer heritage to ethics and law to international and multicultural issues, making it the largest humanities speakers bureau in the nation.

Speakers are available to any non-profit organization in Nebraska. Each program lasts 30 minutes to an hour, plus a question-and-answer period.

For information detailing the available speakers and guidelines for booking them, please access www.humanitiesnebraska.org (Speakers section) or contact Humanities Nebraska at 215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 330, Lincoln, NE 68508, phone (402) 474-2131, fax (402) 474-4852 or e-mail info@humanitiesnebraska.org.