Although Helicon is Baltimore-based, this folk instrumental trio doesn't perform locally more than once or twice a year.
"We treat Baltimore as another city on the tour, but we live there," explains Ken Kolodner from a tour stop in Barron, Wis. "People come up to me in the Giant and ask why we don't play Baltimore more often."
Well, because there's been plenty of work out on the road, thanks to the national following gained via previous appearances, the group's four CDs, and public radio exposure. Helicon played 100 concerts in 1993, visiting 34 states as well as Canada and Germany.
Busy as they've been, Baltimore always has a place in their hearts -- and on their December calendar. Helicon performs its ninth annual Winter Solstice Concert with two performances on Saturday in Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium. Considering 1,700 people attended last year's two performances, this qualifies as a mega-event for the local folk music crowd.
"The Winter Solstice Concert is our big event of the year," Mr. Kolodner says. "It's where we try out new music and see all our old friends and family. Also, I never start my Christmas shopping until after we finish that concert."
So, while the International Hackbrett Festival in Munich must have been exciting, and the Great Black Swamp Dulcimer Festival in Ohio sounds like a singular event, the Winter Solstice Concert in Baltimore is what really plucks these guys' heart strings.
Named for the mountain in Greek mythology that served as the source of artistic inspiration, Helicon has as its members Mr. Kolodner on hammer dulcimer and fiddle, Chris Norman on wooden flute, penny whistle and bagpipe, and Robin Bullock on guitar, cittern and fiddle.
Joining them as guest artists for this concert is a trio called Trian -- fiddler Liz Carroll, button accordion player Billy McComiskey // and guitarist and vocalist Daithi Sproule -- performing traditional Irish music.
Although Helicon plays its share of traditional Celtic and Appalachian music, they're internationalists who also pick folk songs from China and Sweden, among other countries.
"We try to immerse ourselves in these traditions. We'll listen to 20 recordings before we do a number," says Mr. Kolodner. "We won't do it exactly the same, but we try to retain the spirit of it."
They often explain the background of such musical pieces through their on-stage commentary and next year will publish a music collection with similar printed commentary.
Just as their musical selections qualify as multi-cultural, Helicon recently bridged the gap between folk and classical ensembles by performing with the Symphony Nova Scotia in a concert given a radio airing by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. And they're hoping to appear with other orchestras.
"We're right out front, as a soloist would be, and we've got the orchestra around us. We can pretty much do our usual thing. Basically, we're the same, but instead of just playing off each other we also have to be looking to what the whole orchestra is doing. Those [orchestral] entrances and exits make it different than before. And it'll take some getting used to.
"From a purist standpoint, some people might wonder what we're doing to folk music. In an old time fiddle tune there is no orchestra around it. But we're bringing traditional music into a new format and to people who've perhaps never heard it, so in that regard we do more good than harm. We want to expand the boundaries of the music. We want to keep the essence of the tune and put it in a new context."
Helicon and Trian
Where: Kraushaar Auditorium, Goucher College
When: Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Tickets: $14 in advance, $16 at the door, with group discounts available
Call: (410) 243-7254