Valencia, Calif. (March 28, 2018) – From Friday, April 27, through Sunday, April 29, 2018, the
CalArts World Music and Dance Festival will transport musical traditions from around the globe to Southern California. Over one spectacular weekend, audiences will experience
15 free outdoor concerts on the campus of
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia.
Presented by
The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts in collaboration for the first time with
DW Music Foundation (DWMF) and
Latin Percussion (LP), this year’s festival includes the exciting addition of a second
Latin Percussion (LP) Stage – allowing for double the number of performances – as well as a vendor village featuring instrument makers, food trucks, and more. The first 100 people to arrive daily will receive a free, limited edition Chick-ita™ mini maraca from LP.
Part of CalArts’ critically acclaimed Wild Beast Concert Series, concerts will take place at both The Wild Beast concert pavilion and on the LP Stage, both highly flexible and acoustically optimized outdoor venues. Over the weekend, more than 100 CalArts students will take part in the Festival – performing as well as running tech, crew, concessions, and more – as an example of CalArts’ method of “learning by doing” in an effort to prepare them for careers in the music industry.
Please find a schedule of events below.
Friday, April 27
6:00pm, LP Stage
LP Artist Randy Gloss and Hands On’Semble, CalArts Brazilian Drumming Ensemble
8:00pm, Wild Beast
Balinese Music and Dance: Gamelan Burat Wangi, dir. I Nyoman Wenten and Nanik Wenten
Saturday, April 28
NOON, LP Stage
Gamelan Gambuh; Garapatas Bells; Koobang Persian Ensemble; Sitar Journey
2:00pm, Wild Beast
Balkan Vocal and Instrumental Ensemble; CalArts Hinotani Daiko, Shakuhachi Ensemble
3:30pm, LP Stage
CalArts Indian Ensemble, dir. Sarod Master Aashish Khan
5:00pm, Wild Beast
CalArts World Percussion Ensemble, dir. LP Artist Randy Gloss, Andrew Grueschow, and Houman Pourmehdi
6:45pm, LP Stage
LP Artist Kassandra Kocoshis, Vahagni, and Fanny Ara (trad. and modern flamenco); Naiyandi Melam Indian Ensemble
8:00pm, Wild Beast
Tabla Master Swapan Chaudhuri and the CalArts World Guitar Summit:
Debashish Bhattacharya, Larry Koonse, Miroslav Tadic
Sunday, April 29
NOON, LP Stage
Brazilian Collective; Peruvian Collective
1:00pm, Wild Beast
CalArts Tabla Ensemble dir. Swapan Chaudhuri, Randy Gloss; CalArts Persian Ensemble dir. Houman Pourmehdi
3:00pm, LP Stage
LP Artist Joey De Leon and the L.A. Latin All-Stars
5:10pm, Wild Beast
Javanese Music and Dance: Gamelan Kyai Doro Dasih, dir. Djoko Walujo and Nanik Wenten
6:30pm, LP Stage
CalArts Salsa Band dir. David Roitstein and LP Artist Joey De Leon
8:00pm, Wild Beast
Ghanaian, West African Music and Dance: Aza dir. Nani Agbeli with Andrew Grueschow; Adinkra, and Volta Drum Dance
All programming subject to change.
Vendor village with instrument makers, artisans, food trucks and more. Open lawn seating in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Courtyard and Graduation Courtyards. Bench seating is limited; bring low lawn chairs and blankets.
Admission and parking are free. The first 100 people to arrive daily will receive a free, limited edition Chick-ita™ mini-maraca from Latin Percussion.
Festival Website: https://calarts.edu/worldmusicfest
The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts places a high priority on providing professional training that gives its students the abilities and means to become effective practitioners in diverse musical styles—to become culturally informed, artistically versatile citizens of an expansive musical world. Students in the World Music Program closely study music and dance practices from a variety of musical cultures, while simultaneously acquiring
solid grounding in music theory, musicianship skills, and music history and literature. This unique course of study allows students to acquire high-level performance skills in both solo and ensemble situations; facility with both notated and oral methods of learning music; and awareness of the cultural, theoretical and social aspects of multiple musical traditions.
CalArts
Ranked as America’s top college for students in the arts by
Newsweek/The Daily Beast, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) has set the pace for educating professional artists since 1970. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools – Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music
and Theater – CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection and the development of new forms and expressions. As successive generations of faculty and alumni have helped shape the landscape of contemporary arts, the Institute first envisioned by Walt Disney encompasses a vibrant, eclectic community with global reach, inviting experimentation, independent inquiry, and active collaboration and exchange among artists, artistic disciplines
and cultural traditions.
Latin Percussion (LP)
Founded in 1964, Latin Percussion (LP) is the largest hand percussion instrument brand in the world. The company offers an extensive line of hand percussion instruments and percussion accessories including patented designs such as the Jam Block®, Ridge Rider Cowbell®
and Egg Shaker. Many of the world’s top artists play LP
including: Giovanni Hidalgo, Richie Gajate-Garcia, Karl Perazzo, Stewart Copeland, Steve Gadd, Travis Barker, Mike Portnoy and Cindy Blackman-Santana among others. For more information, visit
www.lpmusic.com
ABOUT THE DW MUSIC FOUNDATION
The DW Music Foundation is a non-profit organization that connects qualified, inspired artists and educators with music education programs in communities of need. We work to create opportunities for people of all ages to access real music in the real world. We believe that music is a gift that lasts a lifetime and access to quality music education has the unique capacity to unlock creativity, develop critical thinking and leadership skills as well as boost self-confidence, and enhance learning in core academic subjects. Music is a lifelong skill that unites us and can be enjoyed from early childhood to end of life.
www.dwmf.org