2014-15 series

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 8:00 p.m.
Stansbury Theater, Music Drama Center

Italy's fascinating dichotomy of tradition and modernity come together in the music of Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino. Hailing from the Puglia region, the seven piece band and dancer are the leading exponents in a new wave of young performers re-inventing Southern Italy's Pizzica Taranta musical and dance traditions for today's global audience. Critically acclaimed with 16 albums and countless live performances throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Dobet Gnahoré
Wednesday, January 14, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Stansbury Theater, Music Drama Center

Widely considered one of contemporary African music's most exciting talents, Dobet Gnahoré has astounded audiences with her thrilling stage presence, appealing melodies and powerful singing. Gnahoré's diverse music composition moves from delicate ballads to upbeat African grooves, and serves as a resounding introduction to this voice of the future. As a singer, dancer and percussionist from the Ivory Coast, inherited the force of the “Bété” tradition from her father, Boni Gnahoré, a master percussionist who plays with the Abidjan-based Ki-Yi Mbock Company, directed by Werewere Liking.

Caladh Nua
Monday, March 2, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Esch Studio, Warch Campus Center

Caladh Nua is a tightly-knit, vibrant and staggeringly talented band with its origins deeply rooted in the Southern counties of Ireland. Comprised of five versatile musicians and singers playing a wide selection of instruments - from banjo to fiddle, guitar to bodhran and tin whistle to button accordion - the band has captured the essential qualities of traditional Irish music and balanced them finely with an innovative contemporary flair.

Gamelan Cahaya Asri Concert with I Gusti Ngurah Kertayuda
Saturday, March 7, 2015, 5:00 p.m.
Stansbury Theater, Music Drama Center

The concert will include traditional pieces, contemporary works by Balinese composers, and a series of masked dances performed by the renowned Balinese dancer I Gusti Ngurah Kertayuda.

Sahba Motallebi, Persian Tar and Setar
Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Harper Hall, Music Drama Center

Sahba Motallei was born in 1978 in Tehran, Iran, and started playing traditional Persian music very early on. She is a graduate of Tehran Conservatory where she mastered playing Tar and Setar (traditional Persian instruments) under the instructions of Master Fariborz Azizi.
She further enhanced her performance of the renowned capabilities by enjoying the direct guidance of the renowned master of traditional Persian music, Hossein alizadeh, and the respected music theoretician, Dr Mehran Rouhani.

DakhaBrakha
Wednesday, April 22, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Harper Hall, Music Drama Center

DakhaBrakha is a world-music quartet from Kiev, Ukraine. Reflecting fundamental elements of sound and soul, Ukrainian “ethno-chaos” band DakhaBrakha, create a world of unexpected new music.The name DakhaBrakha is original, outstanding and authentic at the same time. It means “give/take” in the old Ukrainian language. Accompanied by Indian, Arabic, African, Russian and Australian traditional instrumentation, the quartet’s astonishingly powerful and uncompromising vocal range creates a trans-national sound rooted in Ukrainian culture.