Songs of Western Pennsylvania with the NewLanders

Celebrate Pennsylvania’s 250th Anniversary with Stories and Songs!

During this one-hour program, Paula Purnell and Gerard Rohlf will take audiences on a musical tour, highlighting songs written by and about the inhabitants of western Pennsylvania, including native Seneca people, early European settlers and workers of the industrial age. Playing a variety of instruments and telling fascinating stories along the way, this joyful presentation will provide lots of opportunities for interaction and singing along.

Paula Purnell, has served as a Pennsylvania Humanities Commonwealth Speaker and a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts artist-in-residence, while researching, recording and performing historical music of western Pennsylvania.

Paula will be joined by fellow NewLanders band member, Gerard Rohlf. The NewLanders performed extensively as a Pennsylvania Artists on Tour (PENPAT) group and partnered with the Westmoreland Museum of Art to produce an album to accompany their Valley of Work exhibit.