Duncan Sheik and Odetta to perform this weekend

Out of challenge comes opportunity. When the Acousticade Music Festival was canceled this weekend at the Glens Falls Civic Center, Acousticade organizers extended an invitation to Skidmore to hear some of the music festival's top acts. The result? Skidmore will be treated to back-to-back concerts by Duncan Sheik and Odetta this weekend.

Duncan Sheik's performance has been scheduled for tonight, Friday, April 4, in the Filene Recital Hall following a previously scheduled AIDS benefit, which will begin at 8 p.m. A donation of $5 to benefit the Saratoga AIDS Coalition is suggested.

Odetta will give a short performance at 10 p.m. Saturday, April 5 in Filene following a piano senior recital by Filene Scholar Irene Gilb. That performance is free.

Sheik is a Grammy and Tony Award-winning songwriter and performer. His musical "Spring Awakening" won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Orchestration, and Best Score in 2006. The cast recording won the Grammy for Best Musical Show Album this year. He also had hits in the 1990s as a singer-songwriter, including "Barely Breathing," which was nominated for a Grammy.

Odetta has been described by some as the "Voice of the Civil Rights Movement," and Martin Luther King called her the "Queen of American folk music." In 1999, she was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts' "National Medal of the Arts and Humanities" and in 2005 the Library of Congress bestowed upon her the "Living Legend Award."

"This is phenomenal," said Gordon Thompson, professor of music. "With tonight being the 40 ^th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King, Odetta's appearance here on campus can help us remember and celebrate that great American."

[Please note: Due to the recital taking place prior to Odetta's performance, the doors will not open until approximately 9:45 p.m.. To be certain of getting a seat, consider also attending Irene Gilb's recital.]