NIGHTDANCERS HONORED WITH AWARD NOMINATION AND PERFORMANCE INVITATION

Contemporary Native American Flute Music Duo NightDancers Honored with an Indian Summer Music Awards (ISMA) Nomination and Invitation to Perform at Indian Summer Festival 2008

NEW YORK, NY – – Contemporary Native American Flute Music Duo NightDancers has been honored with an Indian Summer Music Awards (ISMA) nomination for their debut album entitled MONTANA CROSSINGS in the Native Heart category. Indian Summer Music Awards (ISMA) recognizes and promotes the very best in commercially released Native American music created by both established and emerging artists. The ISMA Awards are presented live during the Indian Summer Festival held September 5-7 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the awards ceremony on Saturday, September 6, 2008. Entries are judged by a panel of respected professionals from across the music and entertainment industries. Winners are selected from 13 categories including Folk, Alternative Rock, Classic Rock, Hip Hop, Spiritual, Traditional Drum, Native Heart and more!

An invitation to perform live at Indian Summer Festival 2008 was extended to NightDancers for Sunday, September 7th, Harley Davidson Stage, at 5:30pm. NightDancers has accepted but prior commitments and scheduling/routing issues has Gera Clark remaining on tour in Ireland and France. John Sarantos will perform with very special guest artists Jan Seiden and Redbelly (David Martinka). Sarantos’ set will include songs from MONTANA CROSSINGS as interpreted by his musical guests.

MONTANA CROSSINGS – the debut studio recording from New York City based composer/flautists Gera Clark and John Sarantos is a well-crafted, melodic gem of an album featuring themes of exploration, transformation, interconnection and grace. Recorded at the world-famous AVATAR Studios in NYC by Jim Anderson, with mastering by Fred Kervorkian, CLARK and SARANTOS assembled a team which successfully captured the essence of NightDancers’ vision. MONTANA CROSSINGS contains 15 instrumental tracks featuring twenty-five flutes representing eleven flute makers from coast-to-coast. No overdubbing or sound samplers were used on the recording. Montana Crossings/GENRE: Native – New Age ? World; FORMAT: Instrumental – Public Radio – Variety ? World; MUSIC STYLE: Contemporary Native American Flute; STREET DATE: May 29, 2007.

ABOUT NIGHTDANCERS: New York City based composer/flautists Gera Clark and John Sarantos, known collectively as NightDancers, enjoy sharing instrumental flute music with a unique style that takes listeners on a musical journey . . . painting sound pictures with original contemporary Native American flute songs – successfully capturing the soothing, mystical and healing qualities which are the heart and soul of Native American flute music. Clark and Sarantos met while attending a Renaissance of the Native American Flute (RNAF) workshop in 2005, which eventually led to jamming together via speakerphones 1,000 miles apart. NightDancers was formed in 2006. Ms. Clark has been teaching flute in the tradition of her Native American flute mentors, Franc Menusan, John Rainer Jr. and R. Carlos Nakai. As one of the world’s premier Native flute teachers, Mr. Sarantos has facilitated contemporary Native American flute workshops from coast to coast for over 14 years. For 11 summers he has worked with Ken Light and R. Carlos Nakai at the Renaissance of the Native American Flute workshop in Montana and has written six songbooks for the native flute. He was also a contributor to Odell Borg’s recent book release, Native Spirit Song Book Volume Two.
View the NightDancers Online Press Kit at: http://www.sonicbids.com/NightDancers

Visit the NightDancers Website at: http://www.nightdancersmusic.com

ABOUT INDIAN SUMMER FESTIVAL: Indian Summer Festival, North America’s largest American Indian cultural festival celebrating its 22nd anniversary, is dedicated to strengthening the American Indian community and educating the general public on the history and the unique and diverse cultures of the American Indian by providing a forum to celebrate and showcase American Indian traditions. For further information, visit http://www.indiansummer.org

ABOUT JAN SEIDEN: Jan Seiden’s moving and soulful eloquence speaks the language of the heart. Evocative music of flutes from the ancient Anasazi people and other more contemporary indigenous nations flow with themes of nature and global unity. First Place winner of the 2002 Musical Echoes Native American Cultural Gathering’s national flute players’ competition and 2006 recipient of an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, Seiden has performed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and many other concert stages across the U.S. both solo and sharing stages with Grammy award winners Joanne Shenandoah, Mary Youngblood, Tito LaRosa, and with Nammy-winners Arvel Bird and Jeff Ball. WOODLAND WINDS, Seiden’s solo CD, was a 2004 nominee for the Indian Summer Music Awards. MEMORY OF TIME, her newest CD, debuted on the charts at #19 (New Age Reporter, April 2008). For further information, visit http://www.janseiden.com

ABOUT REDBELLY (DAVID MARTINKA): As a self taught musician David Martinka draws on nature, life and his inner self to create his songs. With a long family history of music and love for the Native American Flute, David Martinka is the first bridge to the courting, healing, and peaceful side of both the Native American Style Courting Flutes and the Native Slovakian Courting Flutes. LEGENDS OF TIME, Martinka’s solo CD, was a 2006 nominee for the Indian Summer Music Awards. For further information, visit http://www.redbellymusic.com