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Wednesday festival to present Silk Road Ensemble at Kresge
The Greencastle Summer Music Festival continues Wednesday evening with a benefit performance by internationally renowned Silk Road Ensemble, "one of the 21st century's greatest ensembles" (Vancouver Sun) in Kresge Auditorium at DePauw's Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts.
Ten master performers will combine folk and classical music from around the world in a joyful collaboration the Wall Street Journal calls "vibrant and virtuosic."
The ensemble, formed by Yo-Yo Ma (who is not performing Wednesday) in 2000, regularly presents sold-out performances from Carnegie Hall to Australia in its international tours.
No tickets are required for the 7:30 p.m. concert, co-sponsored by the DePauw University School of Music.
The performance is the faculty concert for Silkroad's Global Musician Workshop (GMW), in which nearly 100 college and professional musicians from around the world are studying in Greencastle for the week. Despite no formal admission charge, donations will be accepted ($20 is suggested, although any amount is welcome) to benefit the GMW Scholarship Fund.
"We are expecting such a huge crowd that we might not be able to fit everyone into Gobin Methodist Church, our usual venue," advised Eric Edberg, the DePauw music professor who founded the festival in 2015.
"We've never had anything like this before in Greencastle," he continues. "This many extraordinary musicians from so many musical cultures in Greencastle for five days -- I can hardly believe it. And I can't think of any ensemble that more exemplifies the festival's motto of 'bringing the community together with friends making music for friends.' It's truly this on an international scale."
Reviewing the 2013 Silk Road Ensemble's 15th anniversary performance in Carnegie Hall, the New York Times described a solo by percussionist Shane Shanahan.
"By the time he finished in a virtuosic jester's dance, limbs flying as he whirled back and forth between doumbek, cymbals and body parts, the audience roared with delight." The article continues, "The breathless duet by ... solo cellist Mike Block with the tabla player Sandeep Das ... was another highlight of the evening. Half dance, half dare, it exemplified much of the interaction between the musicians, which turns any performance into a visual spectacle."
All are performing Wednesday.
"This is going to be one of the most extraordinary performing arts events we've ever had in Greencastle," Edberg said. "Any one of these performers would bring in a huge crowd in most cities. At last week's concert, a friend said, "I can't believe we get to hear (American folk singer) Sarah Joroz in Greencastle -- I've driven hours to hear her live."
Wednesday's other performers are Hanneke Cassel, Celtic fiddle; Lebanese oud master Hadi Eldebek; Balla Kouyate from Mali, playing balafon; Edward Perez, Afro-Latin bass; Jayme Stone, American banjo; and Karou Watanabe, playing Japanese and Western flutes as well as the Japanese taiko drum.
Workshop faculty members will also perform with participants, who include top student and professional musicians, in free concerts (no tickets required, donations for the Scholarship Fund accepted) in Thompson Recital Hall on Thursday and Friday 7:30 p.m.
The Silk Road Ensemble, described by the Seattle Times as "a cornucopia of musical ideas featuring instrumental and vocal artists of almost unimaginable virtuosity," draws together distinguished performers and composers from more than 20 countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Since the Ensemble formed under the artistic direction of Yo-Yo Ma (who will not be performing Wednesday) in 2000, the group's innovative artists have eagerly explored contemporary musical crossroads. This global collective has performed to critical acclaim throughout Asia, Europe and North America.
In 2016, Yo-Yo Ma will accompany the Silk Road Ensemble on a festival tour, and the Ensemble continues to reach audiences through performances and residences around the world.
The Greencastle Summer Music Festival brings the community together with friends making music for friends. Join us for our eleventh season of free concerts (supported by donations) every Wednesday through Aug. 19 in the sanctuary of Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church.