White Horse hosts 'A Night of Poetry and Remembrance'

Tracey Schmidt returns to White Horse Black Mountain, one of her favorite local venues, to perform by memory the work of Rumi, Hafiz, Mary Oliver, as well as her own.

The performance is set for 7:30 p.m. on Sunday June 30, and tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.  

Schmidt's book of poetry, "I Have Fallen in Love with the World," will be available, as will her CD, Returning Home.

The album was produced with members from Free Planet Radio and features contributions from River Guerguerian. 

Schmidt teaches creativity and poetry throughout the region at such venues as John C Campbell Folk School and the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching. 

“Poetry is a way to transcend the anxiety we are living in today, and to step into a perspective that reminds us who we really are," Schmidt said. "As William Carlos Williams said, ‘It is difficult to get the news from poems, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.'" 

Joining Schmidt will be Isabel Castellvi, a cellist and multi-instrumentalist who has performed throughout North America, Europe, India, Asia, South and Central America and the Middle East.  

These experiences are a source of inspiration, deepening the understanding of music as a universal language and revealing it's ability to connect people and communities.  

Castellvi has a bachelors in music performance and a masters degree in the Contemporary Performance Program at Manhattan School of Music.  

After many years of living in New York City, she is now living, teaching and performing in Asheville. 

Naghmeh Farahmand is from Canada and is here as a master teacher for the Asheville Percussion Festival, where has been voted one of the favorite teachers several years running.

She plays daf, a Sufi drum for meditation, and several other drums.

Farahmand regularly tours with the baroque ensemble from Germany, Tafelmusik, and other other groups worldwide.