Tom Callinan

MULTI-CULTURAL COLLAGE
(Here And There, Near And Far, Now And Then - In Story & Song)

For over twenty-five years, folksinger, songwriter, storyteller, and
multi-instrumentalist, Tom Callinan, has been presenting family and
Arts-In-Education programs throughout the Eastern Seaboard of the United
States.  Drawing on his extensive repertoire, he has constructed a
participatory program of: folksongs, original compositions, stories, sea
songs, chanteys, and popular songs and tunes from a variety of times and
places.    A former Connecticut junior high school teacher, Tom can adapt his
program to audiences of all ages. 

In 1991, he was designated Connecticut's first  "Official State Troubadour"
via legislation passed by the General Assembly, and signed by then-Governor
Lowell Weicker, Jr.  In 1995, he was designated a Master Teaching Artist by
the Connecticut Commission on the Arts.

As with all of Tom's presentations, choruses and hand gestures (where
appropriate) will be taught.  Songs will be self-accompanied by a variety of
musical instruments from the wind, string, and percussion families.  Via his
engaging narrative style, he will introduce each song or story with a brief
explanation of its origin, purpose, etc.  Volunteering student percussionists
and assistants are often chosen from the audience to participate with Tom in
his entertaining and informative presentations.  Neither prior experience nor
identified musical aptitude are necessary to take part.

Depending on the sponsor's focus, this program can include selections from
the following:
This program is usually presented as a potpourri, geared to the age of each
respective audience.  If specific selections are desired, sponsors should
indicate their preferences when booking.

"Mother Earth & The Hole In The Bottom Of The Sea" - original participatory
story, adapted from many creation myths, and followed by a traditional song
using incremental repetition
"The Life Of The Country Boy" - a traditional English agrarian song
"Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?" - a Scottish love song
"Now Is The Hour" - a New Zealand WWII-era song of farewell
"Ki-Awah-Ji-Neh", "The Earth Is Our Mother" & "Ancient Mother" -    A medley
of three Native American chants
"The Corpse Watchers" - Adapted Irish folktale of enchantment with music   
and traditional instruments
"Waltzing Matilda" - Unofficial Australian National Anthem
"Asikatali" - South African song opposing apartheid
"Si Somos Americanos" - Central/South American song
"Ancient Rainforest" - Original song about rainforest preservation
"Turtle Island" -  An amalgam of many Native American creation myths
"The Squid-Jigging Ground" - Canadian maritime fishing song
"Essequibo River"-  A Guinean sea chantey
"The Song Of Sedna" - Ancient Eskimo legend
"Vengan A Ver" - Argentine agrarian song (something like 'Old McDonald's
Farm' in Spanish)
"Blow The Man Down" - British/American capstan chantey (for raising anchor)
"Santa Lucia" - Italian boat song
"Good-bye Mrs. Durkin" - Mid-19th Century Irish emigration song
"Kookaburra" - Australian song about an indigenous bird
"Follow Me Down To Carlow" - Irish wedding processional folksong
"Follow The Drinking Gourd" - U.S. slave escape song of the 19th Century
"Oleanna" - English translation of a 19th Century Norwegian song mocking
emigrants to the U.S.
"Katerina Magdalena" - a silly song of a girl with a multi-cultural name, who  
possesses some unique physical attributes
"The Sloop 'John B'" - Caribbean sailing song
"Michael, Row The Boat Ashore" - Georgia Sea Islands rowing song
"Jolly Old Roger" - 17th Century song of an itinerant Dutch tradesman
"Prinderella And The Cince" - the well-known French fairy tale told in
spoonerisms
"Tingalayo" - Mexican song about a strange-acting donkey
"Mon Ane"  - French nonsense song with absurd remedies for a donkey's
maladies, using incremental repetition
  "Hava Nagila" - Israeli festive song
"Tumbalalaika" - Yiddish courting song
"Kum Ba Yah" - African song of prayer
"Top-Notcher" - German play-party song (in English)
"Ach Du Lieber Augustin" -  German dance tune
"Family Tree" - Whimsical saga of an extremely multi-cultural person
"The Ghosts Of Ellis Island" - Contemporary song celebrating Cuban, Irish, 
Russian, Sicilian immigration - and immigration in general
"This Land Is Your Land" - U.S. Depression-era song by Woody Guthrie

"Tom Callinan is an expert at getting the audience to take part in the
performance" - The Evening Gazette, Worcester, Mass.


[PLEASE NOTE:  Custom programs are possible, but require at least two months
"lead-time" for research and development.]

Rates On Request