Notorious: Music Straddling Genres, Hemispheres

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxaRov3Bmwg
Something happened to Eden MacAdam-Somer on the way to her planned classical music career: she found contra dancing, then a gypsy band, then a polka band. The list of her musical interests kept expanding and hasn't stopped since.

MacAdam-Somer now plays with various ensembles, but she calls her band Notorious her true musical home.  She met bandmate Larry Unger at a jam session and says it only took one tune for them to realize they had electric musical chemistry. The two make their home in Lincoln but travel constantly.

Eclecticism is the key word in the Notorious household (the band is named after their favorite Hitchcock film); they're just as comfortable playing Eastern European songs as they are showcasing their French-Canadian repertoire.

This January, MacAdam-Somer will take a brief break from earning her Ph.D. in contemporary improvisation at New England Conservatory to teach children at the Afghan National Institute of Music. She will travel with Unger and NEC faculty member Tanya Kalmanovitch to focus on the World Bank-funded institution, which provides a safe, tuition-free learning environment for students, regardless of their gender, ethnicity or social class.

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