Convo: "Finding My Voice in the Heart of the Great American Songbook" by Patty Nieman and Raymond Berg January 27, 2006

atty Nieman, a Minneapolis actress and singer and a member of the Carleton Class of 1986, and pianist, arranger and 1980 Carleton graduate Raymond Berg will present a convocation called ?Finding My Voice in the Heart of the Great American Songbook? at 10:50 a.m. Friday, Jan. 27, in the Carleton College Concert Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Nieman, who majored in music at Carleton, has performed at the Guthrie Theater and the Great American History Theater. The St. Paul Pioneer Press has described her voice as ?sparkling? and ?knock-it-out-of-the-park.? Recently she has starred in ?Sisters of Swing? and ?Christmas of Swing? for the Great American History Theater. Later this year she will tour the Midwest in ?Legendary Ladies of Broadway,? singing songs made famous by Elaine Stritch and Ethel Merman.

Berg has been active in the Twin Cities theater community since 1980. His work as a composer, arranger and performer has been heard at the Ordway McKnight Theater, Brave New Workshop, History Theater, and many others. His arrangements for the shows ?Plaid Tidings? and ?Sisters of Swing? are currently heard in productions around the country. He also owns Absolute Music, which creates music for advertising clients, and teaches musical theater at the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists.

The event is sponsored by the Laudie D. Porter Memorial Fund. Family and friends of Porter, assistant professor of flute at Carleton from 1968 until her death in 1986, established the fund in 1986. In addition to her teaching, Porter regularly brought outstanding musicians to campus, particularly for convocations. The fund aims to carry on this tradition and has brought at least one artist to Carleton every year since the late 1980s.

The Carleton College Concert Hall has limited disability accessibility. For more information or disability accommodations, call the Carleton music department at (507) 646-4347.