By Maggie Gordon
GUILDERLAND — Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir sing what Tillery calls "survival music."

The Grammy-nominated, five-member acapella group, based in Oakland, Calif., features call-and-response songs with multi-layered harmony.

The Cultural Heritage Choir will be the finale for the summer season of the Guilderland Performing Arts Center, which opens next Thursday with the Burners UK, a local R&B, rock, and pop band.
"We’re a percussion-driven vocal ensemble," Tillery said.

The group has been together for 13 years, since Tillery sent out a letter to a large group of singers, looking to form a group to sing African-American roots music. Eleven singers responded to Tillery’s letter, and the group performed its first concert in 1992.
"From there, the group evolved," Tillery said. "We changed the number from 11 to six initially, and then to five."
The Cultural Heritage Choir has received many honors. Its CD, "Shakin’ A Tail Feather," was nominated for a Grammy in 1997.

The group has released five CDs and is planning to release another live album at the end of August.
"Our CD’s have received lots of library awards and parents’ choice awards, because the music that we do has a historical significance," Tillery said. "Educators love to have us come and address young people — especially in February, because of Black History Month."

The group has also had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall.
"The most memorable thing our group has ever done was visiting the MoTown Museum and, standing under the echo chamber, singing our song," Tillery said.
"Our songs are survival music," she said. "Spirituals... seem to nurture and uplift people in some pretty desperate times. Throughout their existence, when things would get rough for people on the plantations, they would go to these songs and somehow get the energy to replenish their supply of hope and courage. They still do that to this day.
"Spirituals have been, and still are, used as a catalyst for just about every political movement around the earth in history," Tillery said. "They were singing ‘We Shall Overcome’ in Tiananmen Square. The songs have a life, and a personality, and a force that transcends the people who sing them.
"The life lesson is in the song. They’ll be here long after I’m gone," she said. "Way after people have forgotten about Justin Timberlake."

Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir will perform at the Guilderland Performing Arts Center, in Tawasentha Park, on Aug. 25
The group was in the Capital Region this winter, and Tillery said the performers are eager to return. "I’m looking forward to having a feel good time," she said. "We’re just nice people — not very controversial."

"A nice variety"

The Guilderland Performing Arts Center Summer of 2005 will kick off its 26th year, on June 23, with a performance by the Burners UK. The concert series, free to the public, will take place in Tawasentha Park, on Route 146, every Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. — with the exception of the Zucchini Brothers performance, which will begin at 7 p.m. — regardless of weather conditions.
"The stage is large enough that we can fit about 250 people up there," said Claudia Gottesman, a spokesperson for the concert series. "So if it rains, the performers are pushed to the back of the stage and the chairs are put up there. The only ones that are canceled are the Guilderland Town Band, because they fill up the entire stage."
The audience is made up of adults and families, Gottesman said. "There is nothing on there that is inappropriate for children."

Some of the bands have played at the concert series in past years, including the McKrells and the Zucchini Brothers.
"It’s a nice variety of different types of music," Gottesman said. "From bluegrass to Celtic to jazz... The children’s ones are always a big hit."

The summer schedule follows:

—The Burners UK, an eight-piece band, has sold more than 10,000 albums, will play June 23. The Burners have played with such notable artists as B. B. King, The Spin Doctors, and The Village People.
The band plays a variety of music, and some of the songs it has played in the past include "Blister in the Sun," "I Love Rock ’N’ Roll," "Margaritaville," "You Can’t Always Get What You Want," and "Piano Man."

—The McKrells will play on Thursday, July 14. The band is described in various reviews as playing Irish, Celtic, folk, pop and world music. Kevin McKrell, the lead vocalist and songwriter for the band, was named male vocalist of the year by the Northeast Country Music Association in 2000.

—Sweet Cider is an acoustic bluegrass band that will be playing at the concert series on Thursday, July 28. This band has also been honored by the North East Country Music Association.

This April, the band received trophies for three categories from the Northeast CMA’s awards show: Best Bluegrass Band, Best Vocal Group, and Best Instrumental Group. Its bassist and vocalist, Walt Yanis, was also named Best Male Vocalist and Best Songwriter at the awards ceremony.

—The Zucchini Brothers, who hail from Saratoga Springs, will perform on Thursday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m., with special guest Mr. Twisty.
The band, which has been referred to as the "Beatles of Kids’ Music," has a nationally-syndicated radio show. The show, "The Zucchini Brothers, Live! at the Clubhouse," is modeled after old-time radio, before the invention of television, and is targeted toward children and their families.
The band tours on a nationally, and performs at elementary schools across the country. Some of the songs it has performed on its radio show include "Share," "Teacher Song," "Sweaters and Cheese," and "Let’s All Get Together."

—The Empire Jazz Band will perform on Thursday, July 7.

—The Guilderland Town Band will perform on Thursday, June 30, Thursday, July 21; and Thursday, Aug. 11. The band is conducted by Kathleen Ehlinger, who also directs Guilderland High School’s wind ensemble.

—Valerie DelaCruz will be performing on Thursday, Aug. 4. DelaCruz is originally from upstate New York, though her music has taken her various places.
She has received many awards and honors, including the 1997 Songwriter of the Year award from the Northeast CMA; first prize in the USA Songwriting Competition, Country Category, for her 1997 song, "You’re the Happy Ending;" and her induction in the New York State Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
— Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir will be the last band to perform, on Thursday, Aug. 25. Linda Tillery describes the group as "exciting, musically competent, invigorating, and uplifting."