Saturday, May 22nd, 2010, at 7:30 PM

JP Concerts presents “Songs of Love and Homecoming”  with Voci Angelica Trio performing traditional folk songs from Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe that share themes of love, home, nature, and the human experience. Tickets are $10 at the door.

1+1+1=? What do you get when you take 2 sopranos, add a cellist, and stir? In the case of Voci Angelica’s multi-talented members, you get far more than you’d imagine. Voci Angelica performs evocative and emotionally resonant folk music from Asian, Latin American, African and European traditions. These traditional songs are transformed into engaging original arrangements for two sopranos, cello, percussion, and piano.

The trio has global DNA: soprano Meena Malik was born in Japan, cellist Aristides Rivas in Venezuela, and American soprano Jodi Hitzhusen has performed and studied in the Philippines, Panama, England, Canada, France and Scotland. Beginning with the folk music they learned at home as children, the Trio continued their exploration of folk music traditions around the world. Their repertoire includes songs overheard in a pub in Ireland, a YouTube discovery, and sheet music unearthed in a used bookstore. They joined forces in 2007 after graduating from New England Conservatory and found a shared interest in musical explorations. For the trio, the meaning of exploration is two fold: immersion in the musical traditions of diverse cultures, and discovery of the possibilities of arranging for their unique instrumentation. Members of the trio have performed at the Teatro Colon in Argentina, National Theatre in Spain, Chartres Cathedral in France, Caramoor Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Sapporo Concert Hall in Japan, Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall in Boston, and the Montreal Jazz Festival.

“We love connecting with audiences and designing programs that stir memories and emotions,” soprano Hitzhusen explains. “It’s great to have a listener tell us that they hadn’t heard this favorite song in many years!” says soprano Malik. Cellist Rivas adds, “Sometimes, I find that audiences connect most strongly with a piece sung in a language they don’t understand. I think it has to do with evoking a sense of home." For a preview of Voci Angelica Trio, check out: www.myspace.com/vociangelicatrio.