Libana, women's world music chorus,will perform at First Presbyterian Church

Allison Coleman, Cheryl Weber, Marytha Paffrath (front, l-r);
Susan Robbins, Linda Ugelow, Lisa Bosley (rear, l-r)

Celebrating its 30th Anniversary, Libana, a women’s world music ensemble from Boston, will perform here on Saturday Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church at 716 College Ave.

This concert is a homecoming for group member Marytha Paffrath, who not only grew up and attended school in Racine -- she was a founding student at Walden III High School -- but is also the sister of popular local singer/songwriter Mark Paffrath and daughter of music educator and singer Adrianne Paffrath. Marytha is vocalist and percussionist for Libana, while also acting as front person and frequent humorist for the ensemble.

It has been ten years since the ensemble was last in Racine, when they performed to a sold out house at The Prairie Performing Arts Center. This time they return to the acoustically extraordinary First Presbyterian Church. The interior of the church recently underwent a complete renovation returning it to the crisp luster of its original 1850's stateliness. The chancel and sanctuary areas were reconfigured to better accommodate church services as well as live performances. The new design provides a larger stage area, and the performance area raised, providing excellent sightlines.

As a part of Libana’s Wisconsin tour, they will headline a music educators' conference in Milwaukee on Nov. 13 and 14; on Nov. 11 they will lead a vocal workshop on Balkan music for students at the Prairie School; on Nov. 15 they will perform at Unity of Madison.

Founded in 1979 by director Susan Robbins, Libana is a six-woman ensemble. Members are Susan Robbins, Lisa Bosley, Allison Coleman, Marytha Paffrath, Linda Ugelow and Cheryl Weber. Aside from vocals, some of the instrumentation includes accordion, tambura, charango, clarinet, conga, double bass, dumbek, guitar, hammered dulcimer, pu'ili, shekere, oud, darbuka, zils, naqqara, bendir and mazhar.

Admission is $13 in advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased at the group’s website. Tickets will also be available at the door the night of the show.