DPU-hosted Global Musician Workshop to include public performances

Friday, June 5, 2015

With a mission of fostering a community of globally minded musicians who learn from one another's traditions and incorporate them into their own artistic voices, Silkroad's inaugural Global Music Workshop will take place June 8-12 in Greencastle.

The workshop -- scheduled at the DePauw University's Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts -- is directed by cellist Mike Block and will be taught by an all-star faculty, including members of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble and friends, who represent a unique range of musical backgrounds from around the world.

The week will open with a private conversation with Yo-Yo Ma and conclude with three public performances on June 10, 11 and 12.

The public is invited to attend the following events:

-- Faculty concert by the Silk Road Ensemble and Friends on Wednesday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium, co-presented by the Greencastle Summer Music Festival and the DePauw School of Music.

Featuring multiple Grammy-Award nominees from backgrounds as varied as Afro-Latin jazz, American folk, and traditional styles of Mali, Japan and India, the wide-ranging concert will showcase individual performers as well as never-before-heard duos, trios and quartets.

-- Participant and faculty performances Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12, both 7:30 p.m. at Thompson Recital Hall

Both concerts will feature a broad array of styles and instruments from around the world, played by a diverse group of workshop participants and faculty in an eclectic number of bands. These performances culminate the week of collaborative rehearsal and music development.

All three concerts are free of charge, with a suggested donation of $20, which will go directly to the Global Musician Workshop Scholarship Fund.

More than 40 percent of participants received financial assistance from Silkroad to attend this year's workshop.

"When you value others who bring something different to the table, collaboration is the key to meaningful work," Mike Block said "I hope our students will take away a deeper appreciation and understanding of music and cultures from around the world -- not only by learning new techniques and experiencing how different styles of music are constructed, but also by learning what values motivate the acts of creation and performance for different artists and how musicians from different cultures can interact.

"We have an exceptionally diverse student group, and they will undoubtedly learn as much from each other as they do from us. I expect the concerts to showcase an incredible array of talent."

Gathering from 23 states and 10 countries (as far afield as Chile, Iran, New Zealand and Singapore), and ranging from music students to professional musicians, around 90 participants will take part in the groundbreaking workshop. Every student will have the opportunity to perform with faculty in both concerts at the end of the week.

Silkroad's Global Musician Workshop faculty includes:

-- Mike Block, multi-style cello, Global Musician Workshop director.

-- Hanneke Cassel, Celtic fiddle.

-- Sandeep Das, Indian tabla.

-- Hadi Eldebek, Arabic oud.

-- Sarah Jarosz, American folk singer, mandolin, guitar and banjo.

-- Balla Kouyate, Malian balafon.

-- Edward Perez, Afro-Latin bass.

-- Shane Shanahan, world percussion.

-- Jayme Stone, American banjo.

-- Kaoru Watanabe, Japanese bamboo flute, Western flute and taiko drum.

Representing a global array of cultures, Silk Road Ensemble musicians co-create art, performance and ideas. Since 2000, the Silk Road Ensemble has been redefining classical music for 21st-century audiences.

By drawing on the rich array of traditions that make up our shared cultural heritage, they create a new musical language -- a unique encounter between the foreign and the familiar that reflects our many-layered contemporary identities. The ensemble has been called "vibrant and virtuosic" by the Wall Street Journal, "one of the 21st century's great ensembles" by the Vancouver Sun, and a "roving musical laboratory without walls" by the Boston Globe. The group has recorded five albums, including the most recent CD, "A Playlist Without Borders," and "Live From Tanglewood" DVD.

The many-faceted career of cellist Yo-Yo Ma is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. Mr. Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras worldwide and his recital and chamber music activities.

In addition to founding and serving as artistic director of the Silk Road Project, Yo-Yo Ma is also the Judson and Joyce Green creative consultant to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Negaunee Music Institute. His work focuses on the transformative power music can have in individuals' lives, and on increasing the number and variety of opportunities audiences have to experience music in their communities.

Inspired by his curiosity about the world and eager to forge connections across cultures, disciplines, and generations, cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded the nonprofit organization Silkroad in 1998. Through performance and the creation of new music, cultural partnerships, education programs and cross-disciplinary collaborations, Silkroad creates unexpected connections, collaborations, and communities, working at the edge where education, business and the arts come together to transform the world.

Yo-Yo Ma will also participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the DePauw School of Music's new "Music on the Square" initiative on Monday, June 8 at 4:45 p.m. at 21 N. Indian St. (corner of Indiana and Franklin streets on the east side of the courthouse square).

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: