New York’s bastion for world music, World Music Institute (WMI) will be celebrating its 25th season in 2009 with the finest traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world. In the new season World Music Institute will feature the New York debuts of Hanggai (Chinese underground music, Sept 18), Rhythm of Rajasthan (music & dance from India’s Great Thar desert, Sept 26), and the Khoomei-Taiko Ensemble (Mongolian-Japanese collaboration of throat songs and drums, Oct 16).
Artists who have performed in previous years return for the 2009-10 season: Flamenco guitarist Paco Peña (with his Flamenco Dance Company, Oct 2), Kayhan Kalhor (Iran-Songs of Hope, Oct 3), Alessandra Belloni & I Giullari di Piazza (Tarantelle e Canti d’Amore, Oct 30), Sephardic singer Yasmin Levy (Nov 7), Ireland’s Karan Casey (Nov 21) and Altan (Mar 11), The Queen of Calypso – Calypso Rose (Jan 15), Masters of Persian Music (Feb 18), Zakir Hussain (Masters of Percussion, Mar 12/13), cuatro legend Yomo Toro and trombone great Roswell Rudd (El Espiritu Jibaro, Mar 27), Ali Akbar Moradi (sacred Kurdish tanbur music, Apr 9), Ana Moura (Portuguese fado, Apr 18), Shujaat Husain Khan (Masters of Indian Music, May 1), and The Conga Kings (May 15).
New names to the WMI roster include Mavrothi Kontanis, a brilliant young oud player who presents his Maeandros Ensemble (Old World Sounds from Greece & Turkey, Oct 9), the New York Arabic Orchestra under the direction of Bassam Saba (Oct 23), the Tori Ensemble (Korean traditions with jazz and new music, Nov 22), Korea’s Noreum Machi (Samulnori drums & dances, Feb 6), Bombay Jazz (with Larry Coryell, George Brooks, Ronu Majumdar & Aditya Kalyanpur, Mar 19), the famed guitar duo Sergio and Odair Assad (Apr 15), the enchanting Indian dancer Vijayalakshmi (Mohiniyattam, Apr 24), and India’s Joydeep Ghosh (playing the rarely heard surshringar, May 14).
The annual New York Flamenco Festival, now in its 10th year, features the companies of the acclaimed dancers Rocio Molina (Feb 12) and Maria Pages (Feb 13/14) with other artists to be named shortly. This season’s tango event features New York Tango All-Stars – Tango Casanave (Mar 20).
World Music Institute continues its partnership with Carnegie Hall in the World Views concerts at Zankel Hall with Ancient Spirits – the Li Family Daoist Band and the Zhang Family Band (Oct 24), Sara Tavares (Nov 13), Mali’s Bassekou Kouyate (Mar 26), and Sones de Mexico (May 7).
Along with Joe’s Pub and Acidophilus, World Music Institute presents the 7th annual globalFEST (Jan 10), with artists to be announced shortly.
This season World Music Institute will be presenting concerts at the Highline Ballroom for the first time, including Warsaw Village Band (Nov 8) and Mali’s Rokia Traore (Apr 17). (le) Poisson Rouse is also a new venue for World Music Institute, and it is there that it will present Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures (Apr 10).
Tthe Kalman Balogh Gypsy Cimbalom Band, which was advertised in World Music Institute’s subscription brochure to appear on January 23, will not be touring this season. Bulgaria’s famed saxophonist Yuri Yunakov and his ensemble will perform on January 23 with a program of Balkan Gypsy music.
World Music Institute 2009-10 Season Preview
2009-10 Program
Fri Sept 18, 8pm SS China Underground – Sounds from the Mongolian Grasslands: Hanggai $25
Sat Sept 26, 8pm SS Desert Caravan: Rhythm of Rajasthan $30
Fri Oct 2, 8pm TH Flamenco Fire! Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company $25, $35, $45
Sat Oct 3, 8pm SS Iran – Songs of Hope: Kayhan Kalhor $30
Fri Oct 9, 8pm SS Old World Sounds from Greece & Turkey: Mavrothi Kontanis & the Maeandros Ensemble $25
Fri Oct 16, 8pm SS Throat Songs & Drums: Khoomei-Taiko Ensemble $25
Fri Oct 23, 8pm SS Bassam Saba & The New York Arabic Orchestra $25
Sat Oct 24, 7:30pm ZH Ancient Spirits: Wu Man, curator & host; Li Family Daoist Band & Zhang Family Band* $38, $46
Fri Oct 30, 8pm SS Tarantelle e Canti d’Amore: Alessandra Belloni & John La Barbera with I Giullari di Piazza $25
Sun Nov 1, 6pm RM Music of North India for Sarod: Rajeev Taranath** $25
Sat Nov 7, 8:30pm SS Sephardic Soul: Yasmin Levy*** $32
Sun Nov 8, 7:30pm HB Hardcore Folk from Poland: Warsaw Village Band**** $25
Fri Nov 13, 8:30pm ZH Between Cape Verde and Portugal: Sara Tavares* $38, $46
Sat Nov 21, 8pm HB Irish Nights: Karan Casey with Buille $25
Sun Nov 22, 7pm MH The Five Directions: Tori Ensemble***** $25
Sun Jan 10, 7pm WH 7th Annual globalFEST+
Fri Jan 15, 8pm SS Queen of Calypso: Calypso Rose $25
Sat Jan 23, 8pm SS Balkan Gypsy Music: Yuri Yunakov Ensemble $25
Sat Feb 6, 8pm SS Samulnori Drums & Dances: Noreum Machi $25
Thurs Feb 11, 7:30pm CC New York Flamenco Festival: Gala (artists to be announced)++
Fri Feb 12, 8pm CC New York Flamenco Festival: Compañía Rocio Molina++
$35, $45, $65, $80
Sat Feb 13, 8pm CC New York Flamenco Festival: Compañía María Pagés++
$35, $45, $65, $80
Sun Feb 14, 7pm CC New York Flamenco Festival: Compañía María Pagés++
$35, $45, $65, $80
Thurs Feb 18, 8pm SC Masters of Persian Music: Hossein Alizadeh, Kayhan Kalhor, Hamid Reza Nourbakhsh $30, $40
Fri/Sat Feb 19/20, 8pm SC New York Flamenco Festival (artists to be announced)++
Thurs Mar 11, 8pm SS Celtic Celebration: Altan $25
Fri/Sat Mar 12/13, 8pm RT Zakir Hussain’s Masters of Percussion $40, $55, $70
Fri Mar 19, 8pm SC Bombay Jazz: Larry Coryell, George Brooks, Ronu Majumdar & Aditya Kalyanpur $25
Sat Mar 20, 8pm SC New York Tango All-Stars: Tango Casenave $30, $35
Fri Mar 26, 8:30pm ZH Bassekou Kouyate* $38, $46
Sat Mar 27, 8pm SS El Espiritu Jibaro: Yomo Toro & Roswell Rudd $25
Fri Apr 9, 8pm SS Sacred Kurdish Tanbur Music: Ali Akbar Moradi Ensemble $30
Sat Apr 10, 8pm LPR Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures $25
Thurs Apr 15, 8pm SC De Volta as Raizes (Back to Our Roots): Sergio & Odair Assad & Friends
$30, $35
Sat Apr 17, 7pm HB Mali Blues: Rokia Traore $28
Sun Apr 18, 7pm SS Fado of Portugal: Ana Moura $32
Sat Apr 24, 8pm SS Dance of the Enchantress: Vijayalakshmi $30
Sat May 1, 8pm SS Masters of Indian Music: Shujaat Husain Khan $30
Fri May 7, 8:30pm ZH Sones de Mexico* $38, $46
Fri May 14, 7:30pm LNT Ancient Strings of India: Joydeep Ghosh $25
Sat May 15, 8pm SC The Conga Kings: Candido Camero, Francisco Aguabella & Giovanni Hidalgo $32
Programs subject to change
*Presented by Carnegie Hall in partnership with World Music Institute
**Presented by the Rubin Museum of Art in association with World Music Institute
***Presented in association with the Jewish Community Center (JCC)
****Presented in association with the Polish Cultural Institute.
*****Co-presented with the Korean Cultural Service NY
+ Co-presented with Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater and Acidophilus: Live and Active Cultures in association with The Bowery Presents.
++Co-presented with Flamenco Festival S.L.
CC = New York City Center, West 55th Street between 6th & 7th Avenues
HB = Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St between 9th & 10th Avenues
LNT = Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space, Broadway at 95th Street
LPR = (le) Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street at Thompson Street
MH = Merkin Concert Hall, 129 W. 67th Street
RM = Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W. 17th Street
RT = Rose Theater in Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street
SC = Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, NYU, 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South
SS = Peter Norton Symphony Space, Broadway at 95th Street
TH = Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd Street
WH = Webster Hall, 125 E. 11th St. between 3rd and 4th Aves.
ZH = Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, 57th Street & 7th Avenue
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
