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University of Southern Maine, May 5, 2023
Earlier this year I gave my first public concert since before COVID. I had been invited to sing at the Bertha Crosley Ball Center for Compassion at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, and we wound up having a program almost concurrently with their Commencement.
Harmonium accompaniment was provided by Kaavya Valiveti and Rajesh Pai was on tabla. This was a very sympathetic team and I felt quite relaxed.
I opened with a full-length Puriya Kalyan. Vilambit: Hovana laagi saanjh / Drut: Jawoon tore charan.
The first half finished with one of my favorite light pieces, the Pahadi geet Jyuda kinjo dolna.
After the interval I started off with a two-parter in Hindol. The medium teentaal bandish Hori khelata hai giridhari is a great vehicle for bol-bant, and Rajesh and I got into some enjoyable rhythmic play. The drut composition Sundara aati chatur naar in ektaal has a very nice lilt.
The penultimate item was a tarana in Khamaj. This is an old traditional Gwalior cheez with some nice pakhawaj bols in the last line of the antara.
And I ended with Jamuna ke teer in Bhairavi.
I really enjoyed this concert. Though the audience was mostly newcomers to the music, they listened with great sympathy and feeling. There were several old friends there, including one person I’d last seen in 1976(!).
If for some reason you want to listen to the entire thing from beginning to end, with the introduction by Vaishali Mamgain and all of my remarks, here it is as a single uninterrupted file.
environment Indian music music vocalists: benefit concert
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Playing For The Planet: World Music Against Climate Change — June 10, 2017
PLEASE NOTE: CCNOW IS EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS AND WE ARE WORKING ON IT. PLEASE USE THE EVENTBRITE LINK TO PURCHASE TICKETS BY PAYPAL INSTEAD. OUR APOLOGIES!!!
On Saturday, June 10, the fifteenth “Playing For The Planet” benefit concert will showcase master musicians from three different musical traditions in a rare and joyful pan-cultural evening, with all proceeds going to benefit the environmental advocacy group 350MA.org. The performers include the joyful Latin American perspectives of Sol y Canto, the enthralling North Indian vocal music of Aditya Rohit Shah, and the Rev. Fred Small’s compelling songs of struggle and justice. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at The Community Church Of Boston, 565 Boylston Street (Copley Square), Boston. Admission is $20; $15 students & seniors.
“…Senders possesses a gift
for assembling fascinating programs.”
— Andrew Gilbert, The Boston Globe —
“Playing For The Planet: World Music Against Climate Change” is the fifteenth concert in an ongoing series of cross-cultural events produced by Boston-area musician and environmental activist Warren Senders. These concerts were conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent musical styles from three different parts of the globe, and share key musical values: listening, honesty, creativity, and respect. And, of course, they are all committed to raising awareness of the potentially devastating effects of global warming. It’ll be an incredible evening of powerful music — from some of the finest musicians in New England and the world.
“…Pleasant surprises and stimulation of the aesthetic synapses…an open-ended, floating, world music festival.”
— Steve Elman, ArtsFuse —
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
Student/Senior Admission: $15
Advance orders will be accepted until 3 pm on June 10.
If you prefer to use PayPal, please use the link below:
About The Artists
Sol y Canto
Puerto Rican/Argentine singer and bongo player Rosi Amador and New Mexican guitarist and composer Brian Amador have been lucky enough to spend more than two decades composing, arranging and performing music that moves people inside and out; songs that combine poetic lyrics, commitment to social change, and sabor, the “tastiness” of music that draws you into its story or makes you want to get up and dance.
Sol y Canto, their three-time Boston Music Award winning Latin roots ensemble, is the culmination of their musical vision. Featuring Rosi’s crystalline voice and Brian’s lush Spanish guitar, they’ve established a reputation for their quirky original compositions addressing life, love and social justice. Since 1994, Sol y Canto has brought audiences to their feet from the Kennedy Center, the White House, and Boston’s Symphony Hall, the California World Music Festival and Puerto Rico’s Museo de Arte to the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.
Sol y Canto is known for making their music accessible to Spanish- and non-Spanish speaking audiences of all ages. People en Español Magazine selected Rosi and Brian for its 2007 “Stars of the Year” issue, highlighting four inspiring Hispanics who have used their passion, conviction, creativity and self discovery to achieve success.
Brian Amador – Musical director, composer, arranger, acoustic guitar, voice
A Chicano/Gringo mongrel from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Brian was one of the founding members of Flor de Caña, arranging much of the band’s material and co-producing two recordings. He studied classical guitar, composition, and improvisation at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and flamenco guitar in Albuquerque and Madrid. For five years Brian was principal guitarist of the Ramón de los Reyes Spanish Dance Theatre. Brian’s guitar style is as mixed as his heritage, combining flamenco, classical, Cuban son, Latin American styles, and jazz.
Of Argentine and Puerto Rican heritage, Rosi’s performer parents passed on to her their love of Latin American rhythms and musical styles. Her mother was a dancer, a singer and an actress. She appeared in the U.S. on Broadway, in Europe with Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin among others, and in Mexico with comic actor “Cantinflas” (Mario Moreno). Her father began in radio in Buenos Aires and later became an actor, touring all over Latin America. With ten years of training as a classical singer, Rosi has been deeply influenced by popular Latin music, jazz, North American folk, blues and contemporary African vocal styles.
Find Sol y Canto online!
Aditya Rohit Shah
Aditya Rohit Shah, 23, grew up in Pune, India, where he began his musical training under Shri Sanjay Kadam of the Gwalior Gharānā. Since 2007, he has trained in North Indian Classical Vocal Music under the guidance and blessings of Pandit Rattan Mohan Sharma and Pandit Radharman Kirtane, direct disciples of his Bade-Guruji Sangeet Martand Padmavibhushan Pandit Jasraj-ji.
In 2012, Aditya was selected to perform a solo concert for Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India. He won First Place in his age category in SwarGanga’s prestigious “Crescendo” National Competition (USA & Canada) in 2013. In 2013, he was deeply honored to receive the prestigious “Mewati Pradeept” award from the Pandit Jasraj Institute, which marked the commencement of his solo musical career. He is deeply thankful to have the heartfelt blessings of his Bade-Guruji. With his Gurus’ blessings, he has performed at many venues in the States, India, and the UK.
He graduated from Dartmouth College in June 2015, where he studied History and Economics. He is also currently working on several musical projects, including a debut classical album and an album of devotional Jain hymns. He recently released a music video of the Kabir Poem, “Jhini Jhini Chadariya.” An Inbound Sales Consultant at HubSpot, he is a faculty member at LearnQuest.
Find him at: facebook.com/swarpremi.”
Rev. Fred Small
Hailed by Pete Seeger as “one of America’s best songwriters,” Fred Small sings songs of conscience in the tradition of Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, and Holly Near. Powerful, affecting, and inviting, Fred’s songs illuminate the goodness and courage of all kinds of people.
Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger, Rosalie Sorrels, Steve Gillette, Judy Small (no relation), Roy Bailey, the Flirtations, and the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus are among the singers who have interpreted Fred’s songs to audiences around the world.
Fred’s song “The Heart of the Appaloosa” was elected to the All-Time Bluegrass Hit Parade by WAMU Radio in Washington, DC In 1992, Heart Strings, the nationally touring AIDS-benefit musical, chose Fred’s empowering lullaby “Everything Possible” as its grand finale. In 2000, the National Organization of Men against Sexism (NOMAS) honored Fred for his contributions to gender justice.
Fred has released eight albums: Live at First Parish (Aquifer, 2009), Only Love (Aquifer, 2001), Everything Possible (Flying Fish, 1993), Jaguar (Flying Fish, 1991), I Will Stand Fast (Flying Fish, 1988), No Limit (Rounder, 1985), The Heart of the Appaloosa, 1983) (all Flying Fish and Rounder titles available at this link), and Love’s Gonna Carry Us (Aquifer, 1981). Fred’s two songbooks, Promises Worth Keeping (1994) and Breaking from the Line (1986) are published by Yellow Moon Press.
Fred Small was born November 6, 1952, in Plainfield, NJ. Grandnephew of Thomas Hart Benton, the American regionalist painter (and outstanding harmonica player), Fred was playing guitar and singing folk songs by age seven. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Yale, Fred earned a law degree and a masters in natural resources policy at the University of Michigan. He wrote his first song in 1974 on the morning of his first law school examination. In 1980 Fred left his position as staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation to pursue his career in music full time.
In 1999, Fred was awarded his Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School. After serving First Church Unitarian in Littleton, MA, and First Parish in Cambridge, MA, in 2015 Fred left parish ministry to devote his energies to climate activism, especially among people of faith. He is now Minister for Climate Justice at Arlington Street Church, Boston.
Fred has performed throughout the United States as well as in Japan, Australia, England, and Canada. He has appeared at the Philadelphia, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Kerrville Folk Festivals, Lunenburg (NS) Folk Harbour Festival, Sidmouth (UK) Folk Arts Festival, National Folk Festival of Australia, Great Hudson River Revival, Great River Traditional Music & Crafts Festival (LaCrosse, WI), Woody Guthrie Tribute (Tulsa, OK), Bread and Roses Labor Heritage Festival (Lawrence, MA), and the Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) rally in New York City.
ABOUT 350.org and 350MA.org
Co-founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, 350.org is the hub of a worldwide network of over two hundred environmental organizations, all with a common target: persuading the world’s countries to unite in an effort to reduce global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million or less. Climatologist Dr. James Hansen says, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 400 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” (Dr. Hansen headed the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue.) Activists involved in the 350 movement include Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Vandana Shiva (world-renowned environmental leader and thinker), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights), Van Jones, Bianca Jagger, Barbara Kingsolver and many more.
350MA.org is the Massachusetts Chapter of this worldwide advocacy group, and the hub for the Better Future Project.
====================================
The Community Church of Boston is a free community united for the study and practice of universal religion, seeking to apply ethical ideals to individual life and the democratic and cooperative principle to all forms of social and economic life. We invite you to read on to discover more about us, join us one Sunday for a thought-provoking and joyful time, or contact the church to find out more about our community: info@communitychurchofboston.org
====================================
atheism environment Indian music Jazz music Personal vocalists Warren's music
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“Singing The Long Now” — Concert Videos
The videos and sound recordings of the “Singing The Long Now” concert are now uploaded!
It was an extraordinary experience to prepare this material for performance, and to review it after the fact. Tufts University did a fine job with both audio and video, and I really enjoyed getting the pieces formatted and organized for this page. Please let me know your thoughts.
Needless to say, my most profound gratitude and love goes to the musicians:
Mimi Rabson — Violin, Voice
Helen Sherrah-Davies — Violin, Voice
Junko Fujiwara — ‘Cello, Voice
I’m presenting them all in order on this page, with some links to supplementary material as needed.
1. Hymn theme: “The Great Ocean Of Truth” / Raga Puriya Dhanashri: Alap, Khyal in 7 beats, Tarana in 12 beats.
Raga Puriya Dhanashri is usually meant for performance in the early evening. This suite of traditional Hindustani compositions is arranged for voice and string trio; the instrumental ensemble plays a redistribution of the standard accompaniment parts in support of vocal improvisation. The introductory alap is sung on open vowels and vocables, the medium-tempo khyal has a text in Braj (an archaic Hindi dialect) describing a scene from the life of Krishna, and the fast tarana is set entirely to non-lexical syllables.
2. A Hard Rain’s A-gonna Fall
Bob Dylan’s jeremiad is recomposed in Raga Mishra Dhani, the new melodic setting evoking both the apocalyptic surrealism of “Old Weird America” and the convoluted, polysemic language of the Urdu ghazal. The strings’ churning undercurrent hews to the basic 6-beat structure of the Hindustani Dadra taal, but can just as easily be heard as a group of rowdy country fiddlers.
3. “It’s Taken Me My Whole Life…”
This composition is built around the ritualized use of silence at different tempo levels. Every performer has a variety of pre-established melodic/rhythmic patterns, punctuated by extemporized “omissions” — this means that when (and how often) to be silent becomes the main focus of creative choice. Even segments of virtuoso free improvisation are built around the idea that the notes unplayed and unheard are the sweetest, the most expressive, the most crucial.
(Note: complete copies of the score and individual parts will be uploaded and posted within the next fortnight.)
4. Pete Seeger’s melodic setting of Malvina Reynolds’ lyrics (reflecting the words of the first astronauts to view our planet from space) is given a free rendering, with the strings providing a colotomic structure, timbrally aligned with the beautiful music of Sundanese tradition.
“From way up here, the Earth looks very small,
It’s just a little ball, of rock and sea and sand,
No bigger than my hand.
From way up here, the Earth looks very small,
They shouldn’t fight at all, down there,
Upon that little sphere.
Their time is short, a life is just a day,
You’d think they’d find a way,
You’d think they’d get along, and fill their sunlit days with song.
From way up here, the Earth is very small,
It’s just a little ball, so small,
So beautiful and dear.
Their time is short, a life is just a day,
Must be some better way,
To use the time that runs, among the distant suns.
From way up here.”
5. Man With Sign — For Speaking/Singing Voice and String Trio
A reading from my ongoing intersectional activism/performance project, now in its seventy-fourth week of rush hour mornings at Medford’s Roosevelt Circle.
6. “This Is A Composition Which Concerns Itself With Timescale”
Like Paris’ Centre Pompidou, this composition for intoning voices and instruments wears its infrastructure on the outside. To say anything more in these notes would be redundant, except to note that the complete texts of the spoken parts can be found here.
7. The Spider’s Web
E.B. White’s words, Pete Seeger’s melody — my arrangement of this love song is a kind of “folk minimalism,” using asynchronous repetition of simple melodic phrases to create background textures that allow the melodic line and its meaning to unfold.
“The spider dropping down from twig, unfolds a plan of her devising:
A thin, premeditated rig, to use in rising.
And on this journey down through space, all cool descent and loyal-hearted,
She builds a ladder to the place, from where she started.
Thus I, gone forth as spiders do, in spider’s web a truth discerning,
Attach one silken strand to you, for my returning.”
8. The great jazz innovator Ornette Coleman once remarked, “I wish people would play my tunes with different changes every time, so there would be all the more variety in the performance.” Whenever we approach Ornette’s music, we try to keep this in mind.
“What reason could I give to live?
Only that I love you.
How many times must I die for love?
Only when I’m without you.
Where will the world be, if not in the sky when I die?
What reason could I give to live?
Only that I love you.”
9. Ancient Light / Ab Hone Lagyo
A meditation on time, trees, and light — followed by a thumri composition in the morning raga Kalingda. Set to the slow 16-beat chachar tala, this song in Braj extols the beauty of the new morning light, the songs of birds, the effulgence of opening blossoms — a tender, optimistic meditation on possibility and the inevitability of rebirth.
10. The title of this piece references one famous quote from Isaac Newton, and the text is another equally well-known remark from the great scientist (here altered slightly in the interest of gender equity). The words are set to three different eleven-beat structures in medium, fast, and slow tempi.
“I don’t know what I may seem to the world, but as to myself I seem like a child playing on the seashore / diverting myself, now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell / while the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
environment India Indian music music vocalists: benefit concert
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Playing For The Planet — World Music Against Climate Change, December 3, 2016
On Saturday, December 3, the fourteenth “Playing For The Planet” benefit concert will showcase master musicians from three different musical traditions, with all proceeds going to benefit the environmental advocacy group 350MA.org. The performers include Klezmer and Greek perspectives from Glenn Dickson & Sandy Theodorou, the enthralling Hindustani (North Indian) vocal music of Swati Panda, and the rich vocal blend of the NEC Gospel Ensemble. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at The Community Church Of Boston, 565 Boylston Street (Copley Square), Boston. Admission is $20; $15 students & seniors. For information, please call 781-396-0734, or visit the event website at www.warrensenders.com.
“…Senders possesses a gift
for assembling fascinating programs.”
— Andrew Gilbert, The Boston Globe —
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
If you prefer to use PayPal, please use the link below:
“Playing For The Planet: World Music Against Climate Change” is the fourteenth concert in an ongoing series of cross-cultural events produced by Boston-area musician and environmental activist Warren Senders. These concerts were conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent musical styles from three different parts of the globe, and share key musical values: listening, honesty, creativity, and respect. And, of course, they are all committed to raising awareness of the potentially devastating effects of global warming. It’ll be an incredible evening of powerful music — from some of the finest musicians in New England and the world.
“…pleasant surprises and stimulation of the aesthetic synapses…
…an open-ended, floating, world music festival…”
— Steve Elman, ArtsFuse —
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Glenn Dickson & Sandy Theodorou
Glenn has garnered international attention for his work with Shirim Klezmer Orchestra and Naftule’s Dream, while Sandy is a major force for the revival of traditional music in the Boston area with her band, Revma, and her work with Rebetoparea and Oinos. Mainstays in the traditional klezmer and Greek music scenes in Boston and beyond, Glenn and Sandy will present a set of traditional klezmer and Greek tunes, two extremely expressive folk musics which feature the clarinet and accordion. From the mesmerizing laments of Epirus to the rollicking freylakhs of the Ukrainian Jews, the duo’s musicianship is astonishing, their versatility uncanny.
Sandy (Matoula) Theodorou is a vocalist, accordion, and laouto player who specializes in traditional Greek regional music and Greek urban rebetika. She has performed with master musicians including Beth Bahia Cohen, Manos Koutsaggelides, Malcolm Barsamian, and Grigoris Marinakis. She was nominated for Best Sound Designer by the New Hampshire Theatre Awards for her design and performance of music for the theatrical production “The Burial At Thebes”. She performed with the Boston Lykeion Ellinidon and served as chairperson of their Traditional Greek Music Department. She was born in Pireas, and musically inspired by her family roots in Epiros and Kefalonia.
http://matoulamusic.com
Glenn Dickson has produced 11 recordings with his two bands, the traditional klezmer band Shirim, and the ground breaking original jazz/rock/klezmer band Naftule’s Dream. Naftule’s Dream has played major international jazz festivals in Montreal, Berlin, New York and Chicago and has been closely associated with John Zorn’s Tzadik label. Shirim has collaborated with author/artist Maurice Sendak on “Pincus & the Pig,” performed with the Philadelphia Pops, and contributed music to a Woody Allen soundtrack (Deconstructing Harry). Glenn has also won a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Grant award for composition and has performed microtonal jazz (Joe Maneri Sextet), Greek music (Revma), folk-rock (Hypnotic Clambake) and free-jazz (David Haas Group). www.shirim.com, www.naftulesdream.com
Swati Panda
“Good music is that which touches your soul” says Swati Panda, the founder of the Raganjali School of Music. The propagation of Hindustani music in Massachusetts is her mission. A dedicated teacher, Swati Panda strives to inculcate the love for music in her students through clear instruction and intensive training. Raganjali School of Music is a modern day Gurukul, which currently offers Hindustani vocal music classes at Shrewsbury.
Swati Panda holds a Masters’ (Sangeet Alankar) degree in Hindustani (North Indian Classical) vocal music from Sangeet Mandir, Bhubaneswar, Orissa – an affiliate of the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Pune. Swati’s musical training began with Guru Shri Gopal Ch. Panda. A few years later, she found her musical guide and mentor, Late Dr. Mohan Charan Senapati. It was under his loving and patient guidance that she received her Sangeet Visharad (B.A.) & Sangeet Alankar (M.A.) degrees from the ABGMV, Pune, via Sangeet Mandir (founded in Bhubaneswar by Dr. Senapati, and an affiliate of the Sangeet Mahavidyalaya in Pune). Swati’s style represents a blend of Gwalior & Kirana gharaana gayaki, the result of her Guru’s extensive training under the well known Gwalior Gharana vocalist Pandit Keshav Bua Ingle and the Kirana Gharana legend Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.
Swati’s gayaki is characterized by methodical, yet mellifluous note progression followed by varied and complex taan patterns. Besides Khayals, Swati’s repertoire includes thumri, bhajans and other semi-classical compositions. Swati has been composing, writing and teaching music in the Massachusetts area since 1993.
She will be accompanied by Harshal Tole on tabla and Rajesh Saluja on harmonium.
The NEC Gospel Ensemble
The New England Conservatory’s Gospel Ensemble was formed in the Fall of 2013.
Under the direction of Nedelka F. Prescod, the Ensemble explores “modern” Gospel music from its beginnings in the late 1960s to its current sound and expression. From this expansive, evolving and growing canon of Black Sacred music, NEC’s Gospel Ensemble selects the music of key composers and choir leaders to study, workshop and present with authenticity and sincerity.
The vocalists in the ensemble have opportunities to learn and work with traditional and more current forms of vocal harmony, call and response/hymn lining and solo improvisation as utilized in modern African-American churches. The instrumentalists are offered opportunities to arrange as an independent entity, work with re-harmonizations, build their sensitivity and skill sets for accompanying vocalists, as well as learn the subtleties that establish the genre’s unique sound and feel. All music is taught/learned through oral tradition with a focus on the importance and role of music in African-American social and spiritual settings.
NEDELKA F. PRESCOD is a vocalist, arranger, songwriter, choral director, vocal coach, educator, social activist and mother. She has performed or shared the stage with such living legends as Kenny Garrett, Danilo Perez, Fred Hersch, Jason Moran, Jowee Omicil, Ben Eunson, and with the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble. Her artistry can be heard on recordings with Kenny Garrett, Danilo Perez, Pharoah Sanders, Brian Blade, Mulgrew Miller, Lionel Loueke, AntiPop Consortium, and on her independently released solo recording project, “Manifest” (2008). She has also performed background vocals for Alicia Keys, Jonathan Nelson, Jason Nelson and Dorothy Norwood.
About 350.org and 350MA.org
Co-founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, 350.org is the hub of a worldwide network of over two hundred environmental organizations, all with a common target: persuading the world’s countries to unite in an effort to reduce global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million or less. Climatologist Dr. James Hansen says, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 400 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” (Dr. Hansen headed the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue.) Activists involved in the 350 movement include Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Vandana Shiva (world-renowned environmental leader and thinker), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights), Van Jones, Bianca Jagger, Barbara Kingsolver and many more.
350MA.org is the Massachusetts Chapter of this worldwide advocacy group, and the hub for the Better Future Project.
The Community Church of Boston is a free community united for the study and practice of universal religion, seeking to apply ethical ideals to individual life and the democratic and cooperative principle to all forms of social and economic life. We invite you to read on to discover more about us, join us one Sunday for a thought-provoking and joyful time, or contact the church to find out more about our community: info@communitychurchofboston.org
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
If you prefer to use PayPal, please use the link below:
Order Tickets Online Via EventBrite.
environment Indian music music vocalists: 350.org 350ma activism benefit concert
by Warren
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Playing For The Planet: World Music Against Climate Change — December 3, 2016
On Saturday, December 3, the fourteenth “Playing For The Planet” benefit concert will showcase master musicians from three different musical traditions, with all proceeds going to benefit the environmental advocacy group 350MA.org. The performers include Klezmer and Greek perspectives from Glenn Dickson & Sandy Theodorou, the enthralling Hindustani (North Indian) vocal music of Swati Panda, and the rich vocal blend of the NEC Gospel Ensemble. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at The Community Church Of Boston, 565 Boylston Street (Copley Square), Boston. Admission is $20; $15 students & seniors. For information, please call 781-396-0734, or visit the event website at www.warrensenders.com.
“…Senders possesses a gift
for assembling fascinating programs.”
— Andrew Gilbert, The Boston Globe —
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
Student/Senior Admission: $15
PLEASE NOTE THAT CCNOW PURCHASES WILL NOT BE PROCESSED AFTER 4 PM ON THE DAY OF THE CONCERT. JUST COME ON DOWN TO THE SHOW!
If you prefer to use PayPal, please use the link below:
“Playing For The Planet: World Music Against Climate Change” is the fourteenth concert in an ongoing series of cross-cultural events produced by Boston-area musician and environmental activist Warren Senders. These concerts were conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent musical styles from three different parts of the globe, and share key musical values: listening, honesty, creativity, and respect. And, of course, they are all committed to raising awareness of the potentially devastating effects of global warming. It’ll be an incredible evening of powerful music — from some of the finest musicians in New England and the world.
“…pleasant surprises and stimulation
of the aesthetic synapses…
…an open-ended, floating, world music festival…”
— Steve Elman, ArtsFuse —
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Glenn Dickson & Sandy Theodorou
Glenn has garnered international attention for his work with Shirim Klezmer Orchestra and Naftule’s Dream, while Sandy is a major force for the revival of traditional music in the Boston area with her band, Revma, and her work with Rebetoparea and Oinos. Mainstays in the traditional klezmer and Greek music scenes in Boston and beyond, Glenn and Sandy will present a set of traditional klezmer and Greek tunes, two extremely expressive folk musics which feature the clarinet and accordion. From the mesmerizing laments of Epirus to the rollicking freylakhs of the Ukrainian Jews, the duo’s musicianship is astonishing, their versatility uncanny.
Sandy (Matoula) Theodorou is a vocalist, accordion, and laouto player who specializes in traditional Greek regional music and Greek urban rebetika. She has performed with master musicians including Beth Bahia Cohen, Manos Koutsaggelides, Malcolm Barsamian, and Grigoris Marinakis. She was nominated for Best Sound Designer by the New Hampshire Theatre Awards for her design and performance of music for the theatrical production “The Burial At Thebes”. She performed with the Boston Lykeion Ellinidon and served as chairperson of their Traditional Greek Music Department. She was born in Pireas, and musically inspired by her family roots in Epiros and Kefalonia.
http://matoulamusic.com
Glenn Dickson has produced 11 recordings with his two bands, the traditional klezmer band Shirim, and the ground breaking original jazz/rock/klezmer band Naftule’s Dream. Naftule’s Dream has played major international jazz festivals in Montreal, Berlin, New York and Chicago and has been closely associated with John Zorn’s Tzadik label. Shirim has collaborated with author/artist Maurice Sendak on “Pincus & the Pig,” performed with the Philadelphia Pops, and contributed music to a Woody Allen soundtrack (Deconstructing Harry). Glenn has also won a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Grant award for composition and has performed microtonal jazz (Joe Maneri Sextet), Greek music (Revma), folk-rock (Hypnotic Clambake) and free-jazz (David Haas Group). www.shirim.com, www.naftulesdream.com
Swati Panda
“Good music is that which touches your soul” says Swati Panda, the founder of the Raganjali School of Music. The propagation of Hindustani music in Massachusetts is her mission. A dedicated teacher, Swati Panda strives to inculcate the love for music in her students through clear instruction and intensive training. Raganjali School of Music is a modern day Gurukul, which currently offers Hindustani vocal music classes at Shrewsbury.
Swati Panda holds a Masters’ (Sangeet Alankar) degree in Hindustani (North Indian Classical) vocal music from Sangeet Mandir, Bhubaneswar, Orissa – an affiliate of the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Pune. Swati’s musical training began with Guru Shri Gopal Ch. Panda. A few years later, she found her musical guide and mentor, Late Dr. Mohan Charan Senapati. It was under his loving and patient guidance that she received her Sangeet Visharad (B.A.) & Sangeet Alankar (M.A.) degrees from the ABGMV, Pune, via Sangeet Mandir (founded in Bhubaneswar by Dr. Senapati, and an affiliate of the Sangeet Mahavidyalaya in Pune). Swati’s style represents a blend of Gwalior & Kirana gharaana gayaki, the result of her Guru’s extensive training under the well known Gwalior Gharana vocalist Pandit Keshav Bua Ingle and the Kirana Gharana legend Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.
Swati’s gayaki is characterized by methodical, yet mellifluous note progression followed by varied and complex taan patterns. Besides Khayals, Swati’s repertoire includes thumri, bhajans and other semi-classical compositions. Swati has been composing, writing and teaching music in the Massachusetts area since 1993.
She will be accompanied by Harshal Tole on tabla and Rajesh Saluja on harmonium.
The NEC Gospel Ensemble
The New England Conservatory’s Gospel Ensemble was formed in the Fall of 2013.
Under the direction of Nedelka F. Prescod, the Ensemble explores “modern” Gospel music from its beginnings in the late 1960s to its current sound and expression. From this expansive, evolving and growing canon of Black Sacred music, NEC’s Gospel Ensemble selects the music of key composers and choir leaders to study, workshop and present with authenticity and sincerity.
The vocalists in the ensemble have opportunities to learn and work with traditional and more current forms of vocal harmony, call and response/hymn lining and solo improvisation as utilized in modern African-American churches. The instrumentalists are offered opportunities to arrange as an independent entity, work with re-harmonizations, build their sensitivity and skill sets for accompanying vocalists, as well as learn the subtleties that establish the genre’s unique sound and feel. All music is taught/learned through oral tradition with a focus on the importance and role of music in African-American social and spiritual settings.
NEDELKA F. PRESCOD is a vocalist, arranger, songwriter, choral director, vocal coach, educator, social activist and mother. She has performed or shared the stage with such living legends as Kenny Garrett, Danilo Perez, Fred Hersch, Jason Moran, Jowee Omicil, Ben Eunson, and with the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble. Her artistry can be heard on recordings with Kenny Garrett, Danilo Perez, Pharoah Sanders, Brian Blade, Mulgrew Miller, Lionel Loueke, AntiPop Consortium, and on her independently released solo recording project, “Manifest” (2008). She has also performed background vocals for Alicia Keys, Jonathan Nelson, Jason Nelson and Dorothy Norwood.
About 350.org and 350MA.org
Co-founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, 350.org is the hub of a worldwide network of over two hundred environmental organizations, all with a common target: persuading the world’s countries to unite in an effort to reduce global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million or less. Climatologist Dr. James Hansen says, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 400 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” (Dr. Hansen headed the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue.) Activists involved in the 350 movement include Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Vandana Shiva (world-renowned environmental leader and thinker), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights), Van Jones, Bianca Jagger, Barbara Kingsolver and many more.
350MA.org is the Massachusetts Chapter of this worldwide advocacy group, and the hub for the Better Future Project.
The Community Church of Boston is a free community united for the study and practice of universal religion, seeking to apply ethical ideals to individual life and the democratic and cooperative principle to all forms of social and economic life. We invite you to read on to discover more about us, join us one Sunday for a thought-provoking and joyful time, or contact the church to find out more about our community: info@communitychurchofboston.org
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
Student/Senior Admission: $15
If you prefer to use PayPal, please use the link below:
Order Tickets Online Via EventBrite.
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Playing For The Planet: World Music Against Climate Change
On Saturday, November 7, the twelfth “Playing For The Planet” benefit concert will showcase master musicians from three different musical traditions in a rare evening of pan-cultural improvisation, with all proceeds going to benefit the environmental advocacy group 350MA.org. The performers include flute master Geni Skendo’s “Astronauts of Albania,” the boundary-bending explorations of the Strings Theory Trio, and the acclaimed Hindustani vocal music of Smt. Shuchita Rao. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at The Community Church Of Boston, 565 Boylston Street (Copley Square), Boston. Admission is $20; $15 students & seniors. For information, please call 781-396-0734, or visit the event website at www.warrensenders.com.
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
Student/Senior Admission: $15
Advance orders will be accepted until 3 pm on November 7.
If you prefer to use PayPal, please use the link below:
“Playing For The Planet: World Music Against Climate Change” is the twelfth concert in an ongoing series of cross-cultural events produced by Boston-area musician and environmental activist Warren Senders. These concerts were conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
“…Senders possesses a gift for assembling fascinating programs.”
— Andrew Gilbert, The Boston Globe —
Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent musical styles from three different parts of the globe, and share key musical values: listening, honesty, creativity, and respect. And, of course, they are all committed to raising awareness of the potentially devastating effects of global warming. It’ll be an incredible evening of powerful music — from some of the finest musicians in New England and the world.
“…pleasant surprises…an open-ended, floating, world music festival…”
— Steve Elman, ArtsFuse —
====================================
About The Artists
====================================
The Strings Theory Trio
“Genre-defying…Lively and engaging, a journey you are thrilled to be on.”
Liane Curtis, The Boston Musical Intelligencer
Combining idiomatic flexibility, a deep wellspring of creativity, and world-class virtuosity, violinist Mimi Rabson is one of the Boston area’s most valuable musical resources — and her String Theory Trio is a uniquely compelling synthesis of classical chamber music and directed improvisation, bringing together some of Rabson’s most important influences and inspirations. With Rabson and Helen Sherrah-Davies on five string violins and Junko Fujiwara on cello, the String Theory Trio supercharges the intimate atmosphere of chamber music with a triple dose of edgy, daring improvisation. The listener is treated to experiencing Western classical tradition anew; the surging counterpoint and crystalline instrumental sonorities gain new resilience and allure from their origin in the inspiration of the moment. Simultaneously delicate and dangerous, the Strings Theory Trio’s music is richly nuanced and deeply satisfying.
“Mimi Rabson and Strings Theory Trio have succeeded wonderfully at what many try to do: creating improvised music that sounds, flows and moves as if it’s been composed, yet has the expressiveness, spirit and freedom of improvised music.” Darrell Katz, Director, Jazz Composers Alliance
Mimi Rabson has played in more different contexts, styles and venues than most performers can even imagine. She has appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” performed with Itzhak Perlman on the recording “In the Fiddler’s House,” and was featured in “A Jumpin’ Night in the Garden of Eden,” a documentary film about Klezmer music. Her composition “Klezzified” was featured on Saturday Night Live. RESQ (aka Really Eclectic String Quartet), founded by Rabson, performs her original compositions in addition to her arrangements of jazz, funk, fusion, gospel, and Latin music. A founding member of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, Rabson worked with that organization for many years, touring as well as recording, composing, and acting as their musical director. Rabson is currently an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music.
Junko Fujiwara is both a creative musician/improviser and an active classical player performing in varying venues throughout the East Coast and the Midwest. Her current performing groups include: BOLT: Adventurous Improvised Music, the Mimi Rabson Trio, the Eric Hofbauer Quintet, Evocation Trio, and the Di Evano Project. Fujiwara is also a member of the Kalliope Piano Trio and a semi-regular performer with the Metal & Glass Ensemble. A member of the cello faculty at Boston College, she is an active teacher in many school systems and also maintains a studio of private students. Fujiwara holds degrees in music from Northwestern University and Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Helen Sherrah-Davies, a native of Britain, is a graduate of both Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. International credits include recording with Herbie Flowers (Sky/T Rex) in the UK, performing with Jon Lord (Deep Purple) in Switzerland, at the wedding of “Posh Spice” to David Beckham in Ireland, Montepulciano Opera Festival Orchestra in Italy, and recently at an International Music Festival in the West Bank, Palestine, also teaching at Al Kamandjati in Ramallah. Stateside credits include performing with Simon Shaheen, with the Arabic Fusion ensemble, ZilZala, Mimi Rabson’s Power Trio Project, singer song-writer Alan Williams’, “Birdsong at Morning” and the J Way Jazz String Quartet. Summer 2012 saw her explore microtonal notes between “the notes” with monster guitarist Dave “Fuze” Fiuczynski’s unique “Planet Microjam Institute” at the Jazz Festival in Genoa, Italy. Sherrah-Davies is currently on the faculty of Berklee College of Music.
====================================
Shuchita Rao
“Khayal renditon by Shuchita Rao mesmerizes audience at Essence of India Festival 2012”
Lokvani
Shuchita Rao was born in a family of music lovers in Hyderabad, India. Her initial training in Hindustani Vocal Classical music was with Dr. N.K.Karhade. Later, she trained under the noted Gwalior Gharana exponent Smt. Malini Rajurkar. She has also received guidance from Padma Bhushan Dr. Prabha Atre, Padmashri Shri Ramakant Gundecha, Pandit Ajay Pohankar and Pandit Vinayak Torvi.
Shuchita is proficient in Hindustani classical music as well as Hindustani semi classical music (Thumri, Dadra, Ghazals). She began performing at a very young age and was regularly featured on All India Radio, Hyderabad. She has won several honors and awards for her singing.
Shuchita has given public performances and lecture demonstrations at the following venues:
• MITHAS(MIT) and Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass
• LearnQuest Conference,Weston, Mass
• Tsai Performance Center, Boston, Mass
• Bhai Mardana Singh Institute, Long Beach, CA
• University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado
• University of Pittsburgh, PA & Shri Venkateshwara temple, Pittsburgh, PA
• Central University, Hyderabad, India
• Maharashtra Mandal, Hyderabad, India
Shuchita freelances on the subjects of Indian Music, Dance and Culture and has written for Indian newspapers/magazines such as Sruti magazine, Times of India, TheHansIndia and Indian Express. In the U.S, she has written for Lokvani, Khabar Magazine and is the arts correspondent for the newspaper India New England.
On November 7, Shuchita Rao will be accompanied by Sri Rajesh Pai on the tabla, and Sri Christopher Pereji on harmonium.
====================================
Geni Skendo
and The Astronauts of Albania
The Boston Globe calls Geni Skendo a “virtuoso,” who creates a unique blend of jazz, free jazz and world music. Geni leads the Albanian/Jazz/Ambience group “Astronauts of Albania” and the free improvised chamber music group, Samurai Jazz Trio, consisting of shakuhachi, bass/shamisen and piano. After a successful performing career in his native Albania, Geni moved to the US in 2003 to raise his jazz playing to a higher level. Studies at the Berklee College of Music and The New England Conservatory (MM) led to a deep, ongoing involvement with the Boston music scene. Geni performs with Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica (Best World Music Act, Boston Phoenix Readers’ Poll, 2012), in both its quartet and big-band incarnations. The quartet utilizes Geni’s full palette, while the big band relies heavily on Geni’s powerful bass flute in its recreation of long-lost arrangements by the legendary Mexican arranger Juan Garcia Esquivel. Geni’s most recent CD is “Acoustic Cowboy,” featuring original compositions and new arrangements of songs from Olivier Messiaen, African pygmies and the Balkans.
Astronauts of Albania performs Albanian folk music arranged for Shakuhachi & Bass Flute, Oud, Guitar, Bass and Drums. The band’s music seamlessly integrates complex Balkan grooves with free improvised sections, punctuating hypnotic textures with dazzling solo sections.
=============================================
About www.350.org and the number 350:
Co-founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, 350.org is the hub of a worldwide network of over two hundred environmental organizations, all with a common target: persuading the world’s countries to unite in an effort to reduce global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million or less. Climatologist Dr. James Hansen says, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” (Dr. Hansen heads the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue.) Activists involved in the 350 movement include Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Vandana Shiva (world-renowned environmental leader and thinker), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights), Van Jones, Bianca Jagger, Dr. James Hansen, Barbara Kingsolver and many more.
350MA.org is the Massachusetts Chapter of this worldwide advocacy group, and the hub for the Better Future Project.
=============================================
The Community Church of Boston is a free community united for the study and practice of universal religion, seeking to apply ethical ideals to individual life and the democratic and cooperative principle to all forms of social and economic life. We invite you to read on to discover more about us, join us one Sunday for a thought-provoking and joyful time, or contact the church to find out more about our community: info@communitychurchofboston.org.
=============================================
Warren Senders is the contact person for “World Music Against Climate Change.” He is one of thousands of concerned global citizens hoping to trigger positive change through social action and the arts. He can be reached at warvij@verizon.net or by telephone at 781-396-0734.
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World Music Against Climate Change — June 6, 2015
On Saturday, June 6, the eleventh “Playing For The Planet” benefit concert will showcase master musicians from three different musical traditions in a rare evening of pan-cultural improvisation, with all proceeds going to benefit the environmental advocacy group 350MA.org. The performers include the brilliant jazz of Charlie Kohlhase’s “Explorers’ Club”, Esthema’s contemporary take on Balkan and Middle-Eastern traditions, and the awe-inspiring Indian rhythm duet of Pravin Sitaram and Amit Kavthekar. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at The Community Church Of Boston, 565 Boylston Street (Copley Square), Boston. Admission is $20; $15 students & seniors. For information, please call 781-396-0734, or visit the event website at www.warrensenders.com.
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
Student/Senior Admission: $15
Advance orders will be accepted until 3 pm on June 6.
If you prefer to use PayPal, please use the link below:
“Playing For The Planet: World Music Against Climate Change” is the eleventh concert in an ongoing series of cross-cultural events produced by Boston-area musician and environmental activist Warren Senders. These concerts were conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
“…Senders possesses a gift for assembling fascinating programs.”
— Andrew Gilbert, The Boston Globe —
Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent musical styles from three different parts of the globe, and share key musical values: listening, honesty, creativity, and respect. And, of course, they are all committed to raising awareness of the potentially devastating effects of global warming. It’ll be an incredible evening of powerful music — from some of the finest musicians in New England and the world.
“…pleasant surprises…an open-ended, floating, world music festival…” — Steve Elman, ArtsFuse —
====================================
About The Artists
====================================
ESTHEMA
Esthema is a Boston-based ensemble of boundary-bending virtuosi who’ve been developing their unique sound since 2006, fusing progressive rock and jazz-fusion with the sounds of the traditional music of the Balkan region and the Near & Middle East. Andy Milas (guitar), Onur Dilisen (violin), Naseem Alatrash (cello), Mac Ritchey (oud & bouzouki), Tom Martin (bass), and George Lernis (drums & percussion) bring together both Western and Eastern influences, instruments, and concepts in a richly evocative musical tapestry.
Grant Moon of PROG Magazine says that Esthema’s “beautifully produced third album ‘Long Goodbye’ is a relentlessly classy and high-minded affair but with a knowing rock vibe,” while Skope Magazine’s Chris Marsh calls it “…a rich progressive rock record that harnesses classic and modern sounds.”
Esthema’s first CD, Apart From The Rest, was voted in the Top 25 independent recordings of 2008 at Indie-Music.com and in 2009. Joel Simches from Boston’s Noise Magazine stated, “this recording is nothing less than a true celebration of a number of different styles of world beat, jazz, rock, ethnic European and Middle Eastern traditional music” and John Collinge from Progression Magazine called it “a seamless blend of Eastern and Western motifs: Ethnic scales and meters intertwine delightfully with jazz-rock drums and bass beneath jazzy improv and winding melodies.”
Esthema released their second CD, The Hereness and Nowness of Things, in 2009. Lily Emeralde and Emma Dyllan of Phosphorescence Magazine called it “a world-class collaboration of the highest order,” and Barry Clevelend for Guitar Player wrote “the group plays at a truly world-class level, with authenticity, aplomb, and exuberance, resulting in a sumptuous blend.”
Since then, Esthema has been in the weekly Top 20 at Latch Fusion Radio alongside Fusion greats like Herbie Hancock, Return to Forever, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra; they have won the Top 25 of 2011 Award at Indie-Music.com, and their composition “Eastern Dance” went to number 4 on the Instrumental Charts at Indie-Music.com. In 2010 the International Association of Independent Recording Artists (“IAIRA”) certified Esthema’s “Eastern Dance” as an International Top 10. Compositions from all three releases are heard on radio programs and stations throughout the United States, Europe, and Turkey.
For information please visit www.esthema.com.
====================================
PRAVIN SITARAM & AMIT KAVTHEKAR
One of the most exciting forms of Indian classical music is the percussion duet. Blending passionate virtuosity with intricate mathematics and endlessly transforming rhythms, there is nothing remotely close to the power and ebullience two brilliant drummers bring when they interact. Boston is very lucky to have great artists like Pravin Sitaram and Amit Kavthekar to offer this experience to listeners.
Dr. Pravin Sitaram was introduced to mridangam at the age of 8, and has learnt this art from his Guru, Late Shri P. S. Parameswaran – a disciple of the legendary Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer. He was also fortunate to have advanced lessons with the Late Palghat R. Raghu.
Pravin’s sensitive and unobtrusive approach to mridangam accompaniment has been appreciated by outstanding artistes like Dr. R. K. Srikantan, Smt. R. Vedavalli & Madurai Shri T. N. Seshagopalan, Shri T. M. Krishna, Violin maestros – Shri G. J. R. Krishnan, Lalgudi Smt. Vijayalakshmi, and Shri Mysore Manjunath. Pravin has worked with many talents in the New England area and has participated in cross-cultural exchanges in music.
Pravin is a well-known teacher in the Boston area, teaching mridangam to many students over the past several years, several of whom are now performing for concerts in the New England area. He has been a faculty member at the Learnquest Academy of Music since 2003. His students have participated and won prizes in competitions held in North America.
Amit Kavthekar, a formally-recognized disciple of the tabla master Ustad Alla Rakha, has rhythm running in his veins. At the early age of six, he began learning the art of tabla playing, and he has performed with legends of Indian classical music as well as fusion and experimental projects. His dexterity and virtuosity have elicited applause and admiration all over the world.
Amit teaches Tabla in the American School of Bombay (ASB), in New England School of Music, and as the director of the World Music Ensemble at Salem State University for the World Music Ensemble.
====================================
CHARLIE KOHLHASE and
the EXPLORERS’ CLUB
“As a mainstay in Boston’s jazz scene, saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase has helped cultivate the city as one of America’s most fertile hotbeds for creative music.”
(John Murph, Jazz Times Magazine)
Alto and baritone saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase has been a part of Boston’s jazz scene for more than thirty years. After private studies with Stan Strickland and Roswell Rudd, Kohlhase moved to Boston from his native New Hampshire in 1980. In 1989 he formed the Charlie Kohlhase Quintet, a band that worked around Boston and toured nationally for a dozen years.
Kohlhase has recently been leading two ensembles: the Explorers’ Club, a septet with two reeds, trombone, guitar, bass and two drummers and the Saxophone Support Group, a woodwind octet playing saxophone-oriented compositions by Julius Hemphill, Steve Lacy, John Tchicai and Kohlhase. 2009 saw the release of the Explorers Club CD “Adventures” on Vermont’s Boxholder label. Kohlhase also co-led groups with the late, great Danish/ Congolese saxophonist John Tchicai for New England tours in 1993, 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2006. Charlie was a member of Boston’s Either/ Orchestra from 1987 to 2001, playing throughout North America, Europe and Russia. Recent sideman activities have included work with the Makanda Project, an Octet dedicated to performing unrecorded compositions by the late woodwind player/composer Makanda Ken McIntyre, bassist Kit Demos’ Flame-Tet and trumpeter Daniel Rosenthal’s Quintet.
Charlie, along with Dave Douglas and Roswell Rudd, was an artist-in-residence at Harvard for Spring 2003. In May 2003 Kohlhase recorded with Anthony Braxton’s Genome Project and in June worked with violinist/composer Leroy Jenkins at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Charlie rejoined the Either/Orchestra in 2008 and has worked with them along with Ethio-Jazz greats Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke, Alemayhu Eschete and Teshome Mitiku in venues ranging from Chicago to London, Toronto to Germany and Holland to Ethiopia.
Charlie has also been active in jazz radio for many years, most recently hosting “Research & Development” Monday afternoons from 2 to 4 PM on WMBR-FM in Cambridge. He directs the Modern American Music Repertory Ensemble at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge.
“Kohlhase’s own themes are as action-packed as a comic book and as spontaneous in feel as graffiti.”
(Nate Dorward, Squid’s Ear)
=============================================
About www.350.org and the number 350:
Co-founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, 350.org is the hub of a worldwide network of over two hundred environmental organizations, all with a common target: persuading the world’s countries to unite in an effort to reduce global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million or less. Climatologist Dr. James Hansen says, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” (Dr. Hansen heads the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue.) Activists involved in the 350 movement include Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Vandana Shiva (world-renowned environmental leader and thinker), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights), Van Jones, Bianca Jagger, Dr. James Hansen, Barbara Kingsolver and many more.
350MA.org is the Massachusetts Chapter of this worldwide advocacy group, and the hub for the Better Future Project.
=============================================
The Community Church of Boston is a free community united for the study and practice of universal religion, seeking to apply ethical ideals to individual life and the democratic and cooperative principle to all forms of social and economic life. We invite you to read on to discover more about us, join us one Sunday for a thought-provoking and joyful time, or contact the church to find out more about our community: info@communitychurchofboston.org.
=============================================
Warren Senders is the contact person for “World Music Against Climate Change.” He is one of thousands of concerned global citizens hoping to trigger positive change through social action and the arts. He can be reached at warvij@verizon.net or by telephone at 781-396-0734.
=======================================================================
On Friday, December 5, the tenth “Playing For The Planet” benefit concert will showcase master musicians from three different musical traditions in a rare evening of pan-cultural improvisation, with all proceeds going to benefit the environmental advocacy group 350MA.org. The performers include Nima Janmohammadi, a contemporary master of Persian classical music; Triarky, a brilliant jazz “power trio” featuring violinist Mimi Rabson and the electric tuba of David Harris; and the Hindustani classical singing of Warren Senders, with George Ruckert & Amit Kavthekar. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at The Community Church Of Boston, 565 Boylston Street (Copley Square), Boston. Admission is $20; $15 students & seniors. For information, please call 781-396-0734, or visit the event website at www.warrensenders.com.
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
Student/Senior Admission: $15
Advance Ticket Orders Are Accepted Until 3 pm on December 5. Tickets will be emailed directly to your inbox up to that time!
If you prefer to use PayPal, please use the link below:
“Playing For The Planet: Improvisors Against Climate Change” is the tenth concert in an ongoing series of cross-cultural events produced by Boston-area musician and environmental activist Warren Senders. These concerts were conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
“…Senders possesses a gift for assembling fascinating programs.”
— Andrew Gilbert, The Boston Globe —
Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent musical styles from three different parts of the globe, and share key musical values: listening, honesty, creativity, and respect. And, of course, they are all committed to raising awareness of the potentially devastating effects of global warming. It’ll be an incredible evening of powerful music — from some of the finest musicians in New England and the world.
“…pleasant surprises…an open-ended, floating, world music festival…” — Steve Elman, ArtsFuse —
====================================
About The Artists
====================================
Nima Janmohammadi
Born in 1984, Iranian multi-instrumentalist and composer Nima Janmohammadi started playing Setar at the age of seven with Mehrdad Torabi. While his main focus has been in playing Setar, he also plays Oud, Robab, Kamanche, Gheychak and vocal repertoire of Persian music. He continued studying various styles of Persian music and completing his repertoire with masters such as Jalal Zolfunun and Massoud Shaari, and later with the legendary masters of Persian music: Mohammad-Reza Lotfi and Hossein Alizadeh. He also studied ethnomusicology and theory of Persian music with professor Dr. Mohsen Hajarian.
Finishing his bachelor’s degree in Persian music, he began his career as a professional teacher and performer in Iran. While getting his Master’s Degree and Graduate Diploma in Contemporary Improvisation at New England Conservatory of Music, Nima had the advantage of working with great musicians and composers including Hankus Netsky, Ran Blake, Anthony Coleman, Tanya Kalmanovich, Andreia Pinto-Correia and Katarina Miljkovic.
Nima teaches at New England Conservatory and Harvard University. He is an international performer and holds master classes all over the world.
====================================
TRIARKY
[
Low-brass master David Harris and virtuoso violinist Mimi Rabson collaborate with drummer Phil Neighbors in Triarky, a “power trio” performing all original music referencing rock, funk, ska, afro pop, middle eastern, and contemporary jazz. The music is full of driving grooves and heavy energy, busting out with rhythm, dissonance, and improvising.
David Harris has distinguished himself as a trombonist and composer/arranger in a multitude of musical styles. Originally from University City, MO., Mr. Harris associates with a wide variety of musicians performing jazz, R&B, rock, pop, and international folk music. As a jazz composer, he has twice won the Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship for music composition. On both tuba and trombone, David has been performing with the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble since 2010, and is longtime trombonist and composer/arranger for the Jazz Composers’ Alliance Orchestra, with which he performs and records. An associate-professor at Berklee College of Music, Mr. Harris has been featured on over 40 albums, in the soundtrack for Woody Allen’s “Deconstructing Harry”, the klezmer soundtrack for the movie “Stranger Among Us”, the soundtrack for the movie “Opposite of Sex,” and various TV soundtracks and commercials as well. A leader in the klezmer revival, he was the founding trombonist for the Klezmer Conservatory Band, with whom he recorded and toured. Mr. Harris has performed around the world, including the Berlin Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, the Sauti za Busara in Zanzibar, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, with the Philadelphia Pops, at the Smithsonian Institute, and in jazz clubs such as the Blue Note, the Knitting Factory and Tonic.
Mimi Rabson is one of Boston’s most creative and versatile musicians. A first-prize winner of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship in composition, her compositions and arrangements are published by StringLetter Press (distributed by Hal Leonard), and include many original pieces along with arrangements of music by Duke Ellington, James Brown and Cole Porter. Ms. Rabson created the Really Eclectic String Quartet, and was a founding member of the Klezmer Conservatory Band. Ms. Rabson appeared with Itzhak Perlman on the recording called “In the Fiddler’s House” and on “The Late Show with David Letterman”. She was featured in a documentary about Klezmer music called “A Jumpin’ Night in the Garden of Eden”. Ms. Rabson served as musical director to academy award winner, Joel Grey in his production of “Borschtcapades ‘94”. Her composition “Klezzified” was featured on Saturday Night Live. Other performance credits include the premiere of “Fresh Faust” by Leroy Jenkins, soundtrack for “Sensorium”- the award winning film by Karen Aqua, with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, Meatloaf, Kristin Chenoweth, the Boston Gay Men’s Choir, the Boston Camarata, the New England Ragtime Ensemble, the Klezmatics, Deborah Henson-Conant, the Pablo Ablanedo Octet, and XLCR. She has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion twice, at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Wolf Trap, the Mann Center, the Place des Arts in Montreal and other world class venues.
Phil Neighbors is originally from Cincinnati, and has lived in Boston since 1995. He has performed and/or recorded with groups as diverse as: The Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, Dave Birkin’s Hot Shots, the Sam Davis group, The Coots, the Jeff Robinson Trio, and the Funky White Honkies, Agachiko, and Triarky.
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Warren Senders and The Raga Ensemble
One of the world’s great improvisational song forms is khyal, the richly ornamented classical singing of North Indian tradition. Accompanied by the harmonium of George Ruckert and the tabla of Amit Kavthekar, Warren Senders weaves a hypnotic tapestry of sound in his renditions of traditional ragas. Acclaimed as the foremost non-Indian performer of this beautiful idiom, Senders lived in India for many years, learning the khyal style from master teacher Pt. S.G. Devasthali. He has performed throughout the world, enrapturing audiences and critics with a unique combination of authenticity and originality. His most recent CD release, “The Beauty of Khyal,” features mesmerizing renditions of five evening and night ragas.
“…an amazing man, an amazing artist.”
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, interviewed in Little India, September 2002
Mr. Senders has received grants and fellowships including the Indo-American Fellowship, the Jon B. Higgins Memorial Scholarship for Indian Music, a Senior Research Fellowship and a Performing Arts Fellowship from the American Institute of Indian Studies, support for music composition from Meet the Composer, and travel awards from the Fund for U.S. Artists. His writings on music have been published by Rhythm Magazine, Bansuri, the New England Conservatory Journal for Learning Through Music, and World Rhythm. Also a jazz musician, his original instrumental music can be heard on cds by “Antigravity” and the Jazz Composers’ Alliance Orchestra.
”Warren’s talent of keeping listeners engrossed by his delightful singing…comes from this same attitude of heartily enjoying the process of musical discovery.”
— Chaitanya Kunte, Tarun Bharat, Pune, India —
An internationally recognized educator and a faculty member of Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music, Mr. Senders has given hundreds of lecture-demonstrations, master-classes and clinics, for interested learners from kindergartners to elders. He has developed extensive course material on the structure and aesthetics of Hindustani music, and has introduced students students at colleges and universities all over the United States, Canada and India to aspects of Indian music.
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About www.350.org and the number 350:
Co-founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, 350.org is the hub of a worldwide network of over two hundred environmental organizations, all with a common target: persuading the world’s countries to unite in an effort to reduce global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million or less. Climatologist Dr. James Hansen says, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” (Dr. Hansen heads the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue.) Activists involved in the 350 movement include Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Vandana Shiva (world-renowned environmental leader and thinker), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights), Van Jones, Bianca Jagger, Dr. James Hansen, Barbara Kingsolver and many more.
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Warren Senders is the contact person for “Voices Against Climate Change.” He is one of thousands of concerned global citizens hoping to trigger positive change through social action and the arts. He can be reached at warvij@verizon.net or by telephone at 781-396-0734.
humor India Indian music music Personal vocalists: dagarel doggerel
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Comic Verse About Indian Music, part 2
“Oral Tradition: Some Hidden Aspects — or, The Ustad’s Advice.”
When I was in my early days,
I fell in love with raags,
Though my mother said the singers
Sounded more like frogs.I learned to sing the alap,
I learned to sing the cheez,
My taan became proficient,
But still it failed to please.I asked an ancient ustad,
how to make a lovely note.
“My son,” he said, “it just requires
a clearing of the throat.”“You start down in the glottis,
and gargle up some phlegm,
then bring it through your larynx
for a truly great ACC-HEM!”“My son,” he then continued,
“Your music won’t be great, ’till
You can make a wad of mucus,
Stained red from years of betel.”I listened to the records
Of the pandits and ustads;
’twas true, I found: the greatest singers
Made the biggest wads.When Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
Throws all his weight around,
His taans, alaps, and gamaks
Produce a stirring sound.But he’s got something else, my friends,
Which modern singers lack:
A wonderfully resonating way
of going “Aaaaaaak!”I heard the maestro Faiyaaz Khan,
who sang in days of yore:
He’d scrape his learned larynx,
and bring up more…and more.Paluskar’s hack was beautiful,
And likewise Amir Khan…
But now this great tradition,
it seems cannot go on.The modern crowd of singers
Will stay forever small,
For though they may sing sweetly,
They cannot cough at all.
India Indian music music Personal vocalists Warren's music: fundraising khyal
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Making It Happen!
The Beauty of Khyal — A Recital of Night Ragas
I’m as happy with this recording as I’ve ever been. The recording session we did on August 16 of this year was wonderfully productive, and this CD represents the first installment of the raga performances Milind Pote, Chaitanya Kunte, and I laid down that night.
Please pitch in. You’ll love this music.
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Bandra Concert, August 21, 2013
The music this evening was just gorgeous. Mukta Raste’s beautiful theka was inspiring and supportive, and Ravindra Lomate played excellent sangat on harmonium. The Bandra Base is a once-in-a-lifetime room: small, sympathetic, filled with excellent resonance and history. Dee Wood, proprietor of the Base, made the farmaish for Malkauns. I’m glad he did; this performance came out with lots of bhaav.
Mora bolere – vilambit teentaal
Banwari mori manata nahin – drut teentaal
Tarana – drut teentaal
Warren Senders – voice
Mukta Raste – tabla
Ravindra Lomate – harmonium
August 21, 2013
The Bandra Base, Bandra, Mumbai, India
Peer na jaanire – vilambit ektaal
Man man ab to man – drut ektaal
tarana – drut teentaal
Warren Senders – voice
Mukta Raste – tabla
Ravindra Lomate – harmonium
August 21, 2013
The Bandra Base, Bandra, Mumbai, India