SCHWENKFELDER LIBRARY & HERITAGE CENTER
105 Seminary Street, Pennsburg, PA 18073
Phone 215 679-3103; Fax 215 679-8175
info@schwenkfelder.com
www.schwenkfelder.com

July 15, 2008

Contact: David W. Luz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
215-679-3103, phone
215-679-8175, fax

Commonwealth Speaker to discuss The Music, Dance, and Instruments of the Pennsylvania Germans

The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center will host the Commonwealth Speaker Keith Brintzenhoff's presentation "The Music, Dance, and Instruments of the Pennsylvania Germans" in the Heritage Center Meeting Room on Thursday, August 14 at 1:30 pm. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Through dance, songs, and stories, "The Music, Dance, and Instruments of the Pennsylvania Germans" will explore the traditions of Pennsylvania German music and dance. Dressed in authentic attire, Keith Brintzenhoff will begin with a brief history of these rich traditions. He'll also perform and explain the roles that the guitar, harmonica, mountain dulcimer, banjo, and autoharp play in Pennsylvania German music. Participants will be taught hoedowning as well as the fancy footwork of jigging.

Keith Brintzenhoff was (and technically still is) a school teacher by profession. He is certified in elementary education and secondary social studies, and is experienced in German and Elementary/Middle School Music and Library Sciences. He taught PA German language to preschoolers (Shaynah Kinnah Daycare), mixed groups (Berks County YMCA), and college students (Prescott, Arizona). Keith was musical advisor for the Kutztown PA German Festival as well as a performer. Other performances include Hershey Museum, Historic Schaefferstown, Der Dutch Peddler Homecoming (Ohio), Berks County Heritage Festival, Lyons Fiddle Festival, Mayfair, the Mercer Museum, Reading Liederkranz, Landis Valley Farm Museum, and Musikfest in Bethlehem.

This presentation is a program of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC), sponsored in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The PHC inspires people to come together to share a life of learning. Since 1973 the PHC has provided resources that empower local groups to help their communities explore history, literature, the arts, and the ideas that shape the human experience.

The Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center was founded in 1884 as an informal collection in a private home to assure the preservation of the Schwenkfelders' cultural identity. Today the Heritage Center, a not-for-profit organization, is still preserving, interpreting, and documenting the history of this German Protestant group, along with the history of the Upper Perkiomen Valley. The Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm; Thursdays 9:00 am to 8:00 pm; Saturdays 10:00 am to 3:00 pm; and Sundays 1:00 to 4:00 pm. The Heritage Center is closed to the public on Mondays. For additional information call 215-679-3103 or visit our website www.schwenkfelder.com.