Adventures in Multicultural Living: We gain so much from wading in the water of each other's cultural experiences - AnnArbor.com

IMDiversity.com Asian American Village Editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang's Adventures in Multicultural Living column:

Two years ago, my father’s choir at the University of Hawaii was invited to sing at a big international diversity concert at Lincoln Center in New York for MLK Day. Choirs from around the world had been invited to sing together, and a Hawaiian choir adds instant diversity with its multicultural population of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Portuguese, Caucasians and native Hawaiians. That summer, over a breakfast of Chinese pancakes and Portuguese sausage, my father told us about the difficulties he had had the night before at choir practice pronouncing the words in the spirituals that they were learning, “You have to say the words like a Negro,” he said.

Twelve-year-old Hao Hao gently corrected him: “African American. These days you should say African American.” (I bet Senator Reid wishes his grandchildren had told him this, too.) (click on link for more)

We gain so much from wading in the water of each other's cultural experiences - AnnArbor.com

Featured Job: Scholar in Indian Music with a specialization in Sikh Music (Gurmat Sangeet)

Recently posted on our new job bank: An interesting opportunity at Hofstra University in New York calls for a scholar in Indian Music with a specialization in Sikh Music (Gurmat Sangeet):

The position is rank open, depending on qualifications, and Tenure Track. (Salary is also dependent upon experience and qualifications.) Candidates should have completed a Ph.D. in Music or Ethnomusicology (preferred) with a specialty in the Sikh musical tradition from both a scholarly and performance perspective. An established record of research, publication and other professional and scholarly activity focusing on the Sikh musical tradition and its performance, and a growing reputation within the scholarly community required. Experience in college-level instruction is required (preference will be given to active performers).

Read the full posting and apply here:
Featured Job: Scholar in Indian Music with a specialization in Sikh Music (Gurmat Sangeet)

The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma coming to Michigan

March 13 and 14, 2009
Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
University Musical Society

So did you find Yo-Yo Ma taking pictures with his cell phone in the zoomable inauguration photo from Gigapan.org circulating in emails? The email says that the photo is a composite of over 200 shots and “Bonus points if you find Yo-Yo Ma taking pictures with his cell phone.”

He couldn’t play at the inauguration because of the bitter cold that day, but you can come see him in concert at the famed Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Cold in Michigan? Nah…). Buy your tickets early as the concert is expected to sell out.

“Yo-Yo Ma is part modern Marco Polo, an explorer of cultures far beyond his own; part musical missionary, eager to share ideas and make vital connections between peoples.” (Chicago Tribune) Founded by Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, the Silk Road Project has been a catalyst for a new kind of conversation, opening avenues of inter-cultural communication and collaborative thinking. For about 2,000 years the Silk Road was the main conduit for the spread and exchange of goods, ideas, religions, and culture, connecting people from Asia to the Mediterranean. The collective is drawn from internationally renowned musicians interested in exploring the relationships between tradition and innovation in music from the East and West. “When I started the Silk Road Project,” says Yo-Yo Ma, whose 25 years of touring influenced his view and understanding of the world, “I began to understand the geographical and musical connections between all of these incredible cultures — all these ‘other’ classical musics, the Persian classical music, the Indian classical music, and so on. I got a sense that at one time these connections were much closer, and over time that certain things got split off and developed independently.” After last season’s stunning solo recital, Yo-Yo Ma returns with two different performances featuring artists from the Silk Road Ensemble. Two different programs featuring Yo-Yo Ma, with specific artists to be announced.

Check out ums.org to learn more about the instruments used by the Silk Road Ensemble, to see an interview with Yo-Yo Ma, and more!

Kodo comes to Michigan

Kodo
Friday, February 13, 2009, 8 pm
Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
University Musical Society

The first time I saw Kodo perform was at Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley in the mid-eighties, trying (hopelessly) to impress a handsome Japanese graduate student. I soon forgot the graduate student sitting next to me as I was taken in by the power and the rhythm of the drumming. And OH! Those muscles! That was one of the first international tours of Kodo, when the drummers were still actually fishermen. I remember the MC, a young Asian American woman, whooping it up over an 87-year-old grandpa’s incredible muscles. I have since become a fan of San Jose Taiko, and the newer younger styles of California Taiko, but I still see Kodo whenever I can.

In ancient Japan, the taiko drum was a symbol of the rural community, and it is said that the limits of the village were defined not by geography, but by the furthest distance from which the taiko could be heard. With its “One Earth” tour, Kodo brings the sound of the taiko to people around the globe, transcending barriers of language and custom and reminding all of our membership in that much larger community, the world. “In this age of exploding populations and lightning-fast communication, it is more important than ever that these diverse cultures learn to recognize and accept each other so that all may share our increasingly shrinking planet in harmony,” according to Kodo’s primary philosophy. The Japanese characters of the company’s name convey two meanings: “heartbeat,” the primal source of all rhythm, and “children of the drum,” a reflection of Kodo’s desire to play their drums simply, with the heart of a child.

The ensemble makes its first University Musical Society appearance since 2005.

Hula Soundings! A Lecture/Performance by Amy Ku’uleialoha Stillman

U-M Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments presents

Hula Soundings! A Lecture/Performance by Amy Ku’uleialoha Stillman
Sunday, October 26, 2-3:30 pm: Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave at William ▪ Ann Arbor

Witness and enjoy the richness of the Hawaiian hula tradition that few visitors to Hawai’i are privileged to see. This presentation includes performances with rarely-seen instruments such as ‘uli’uli, ‘ili’ili, ipu heke, and the most sacred instrument, the pahu drum.

Dr. Amy Ku’uleialoha Stillman is Associate Professor of American Culture and Music at University of Michigan. Born and raised in Hawai’i, she is a dedicated scholar of Hawaiian music and culture, and the author of Sacred Hula (1998) as well as numerous articles in international academic journals. Dr. Stillman is also Director of Great Lakes Hula Academy based in Ann Arbor.

Shen Wei Wins MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship

When Choreographer Shen Wei was recently in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the University of Musical Society debut of “Second Visit to the Empress,” UMS President Ken Fischer was proud to announce that earlier that week Shen Wei had won the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship.

Shen Wei, founder and artistic director of Shen Wei Dance Arts, is a choreographer who combines Eastern and Western influences and multiple artistic disciplines to create a bold and visually arresting form of dance-theater. Born in China’s Hunan province and trained from his youth in calligraphy, painting, and Chinese operatic performance, Shen Wei became a founding member of the Guangdong Modern Dance Company, the first modern dance company in China, prior to moving to New York in 1995. Through choreographed movements that are precise and inventive, he and his dancers perform highly stylized steps and gestures inspired by Western dance traditions as well as Chinese opera, acrobatics, and martial arts. With the compositional rigor of a visual artist, he incorporates vivid colors, striking costume design, and imaginative use of space into theatrical works that are, at once, kinetic paintings. Staging his dances on a grand scale with a high level of production detail, Shen defies expectations with each new work. Folding (2000) begins with dancers draped in dramatic red against a shimmering blue backdrop and concludes with the chanting of Tibetan Buddhist monks, while his Rite of Spring (2003) offers a spare, minimalist approach to a classic modernist score. In these and other works, Shen Wei fuses a diverse range of art forms into an aesthetically striking dance language that is all his own.

Shen Wei received degrees from the Hunan Arts Academy and the Guangdong Dance School. He performed with the Hunan State Xian Opera Company (1984-1989) and the Guangdong Modern Dance Company (1991-1994) prior to founding Shen Wei Dance Arts in 2000. His company has performed in festivals and at venues throughout the U.S. and internationally, including the Lincoln Center Festival, the American Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Sadler’s Wells, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, among many others. A painter as well as a choreographer, Shen’s works have been exhibited in New York City and Hong Kong. He is now based in New York City.