Duke Performances recently revealed the programming for the 2015-2016 season. This year, the world music presentations look especially appealing. The first artist scheduled to perform at Duke is celebrated Ethiojazz musician Mahmoud Ahmed, who will appear on Thursday, September 10 at Reynolds Industries Theater.
Next will be Portuguese singer-songwriter Lula Pena, set to perform on Thursday, September 17 at the more intimate Nelson Music Room.
Try not to miss Indian violin master and innovator L. Subramaniam, He has been making memorable Indian classical, fusion and soundtracks for years. He will be playing on Friday, September 18 at Baldwin Auditorium.
On Saturday, September 26, two top dancers from Spain will appear on stage at Reynolds Industries Theater: Patricia Ibañez (Jerez de la Frontera ) and Abel Harana (Sanlucar de Barrameda). Jerez is one of the cradles of flamenco so this a great opportunity to see real flamenco dance art, featuring two emerging talents accompanied by singers, guitar and palmas (handclap percussion).
One of the highlights this upcoming season is undoubtedly the Buena Vista Social Club’s ‘Adiós Tour.’ This concert is expected to draw a very large audience so the venue moves to the Durham Performing Arts Center. Even though some of the members of the Buena Vista Social Club passed away in recent years, the lineup features several of the original members including admired vocalist Omara Portuondo; iconic singer-songwriter and tres guitar master Eliades Ochoa; trumpeter Guajiro Mirabal; and laud (Spanish lute) virtuoso Babarito Torres. This concert will take place on Monday, October 26.
Another Cuban heavyweight is set to perform on Monday, November 16. Keyboard maestro and composer Chucho Valdés will appear with a new incarnation of the legendary Cuban jazz fusion band Irakere at Page Auditorium.
Celtic supergroup The Gloaming is set to appear on Saturday, March 26 at Baldwin Auditorium. The lineup includes the unique vocals of Iarla Ó Lionáird (Afro Celt Sound System); fiddle master Martin Hayes; hardanger fiddler Caoimhin Ó Raghallaigh; guitarist Dennis Cahill; and pianist and producer Thomas Bartlett, aka Doveman.
Kassé Mady Diabaté, one of the leading jeli (griot) singers from Mali, is scheduled for Friday, April 1 at Baldwin Auditorium. He will be accompanied by a traditional lineup of ngoni, bala (balaphone), and kora performed by some of the finest musicians in Mali, including kora master Ballake Sissoko.
On Friday, April 8, 2016 Chinese chamber music virtuosos Shanghai Quartet will appear with pipa (Chinese lute) prodigy Wu Man. The program will include pieces by contemporary Chinese composers for string quartet and pipa with a mix of contemporary classical and folk songs. Location: Baldwin Auditorium.
The last concert of the season will be a real treat for fans of Balkan brass bands. Two of the finest Roma (Gypsy) bands, Boban & Marko Markovic Orkestar and Fanfare Ciocarlia. The concert will take place Monday, April 11 at Page Auditorium. We’ve seen these artists at world music expo WOMEX and at Forde (Norway) and their performance is spectacular.
We regard American roots music as part of the world music family so we also recommend the concerts by former Carolina Chocolate Drops artist Rhiannon Giddens who will perform on Friday, September 25 at Page Auditorium.
Another great American roots music show is scheduled for Thursday, December 10. Rosanne Cash will present ‘The River & The Thread’ at Page Auditorium.
Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band will appear on Friday, March 4 at Baldwin Auditorium.
Lastly, we highly recommend the concert by Rez Abbasi. Although he doesn’t make world music, he’s one of the finest guitarists in the contemporary American jazz scene. Abbasi recently recorded new acoustic versions of some of the jazz-rock fusion classics from the 1970s. Rez Abbasi Invocation is set to perform Friday, January 22 at Baldwin Auditorium.
We spoke with Aaron Greenwald, Executive Director of Duke Performances about this year’s program and the future of world music at Duke Performances.
Angel Romero – At the time of selecting the program for the 2015-2016 season, you must have been approached by numerous booking agents. How did you choose the artists scheduled for the new season?
Aaron Greenwald – At Duke Performances, we’re invested in making both a balanced slate of programming & one that is full of surprises. On a season to season basis we’re committed to programming a handful of genres: jazz, dance, theater, classical music, international music, Americana and new music/contemporary classical.
In addition, we’re mission-driven to present in a network of about a dozen venues — quite large to quite small — both on campus and in town. Finally, we’re interested in engaging artists who are willing and able to interact meaningfully with our campus and community.
Within those guidelines we have an enormous amount of freedom and my choices ultimately come down to artists routing through the southeast that are too wonderful to skip — Abdullah Ibrahim, Chucho Valdes, Rosanne Cash; those that fit into a meaningful thematic scheme, global hip-hop for instance — Ana Tijoux, Rennie Harris Puremovement, Blitz the Ambassador; & those that I’ve always wanted to showcase in Durham — Bettye Lavette, Mahmoud Ahmed, Fazil Say.
AR – Do you rely exclusively on the rosters offered by booking agents or do you also seek specific artists you’re interested in?
AG -The process of engaging artists, particularly international artists, has become so complex — from both a federal tax & visa perspective — that it is very nearly a necessity to work closely with agents. That said, we’ve demonstrated an appetite for musical eclecticism for so long that we’re one of the first calls for an agent who’s trying to make an unusual project work for touring in the US. I think this is the case with the exceptional Portuguese singer-songwriter Lula Pena, as well as our grand late-April double-bill of Boban & Marko Markovic Orkestar from Serbia and Fanfare Ciocarlia from Romania.
On the other hand, while we booked the highly acclaimed Turkish pianist Fazil Say through an agent, we sought him for many months because he is likely the most important contemporary Turkish performing artist and we were anxious to engage the vibrant Turkish community here in the region.
AR – It seems like this upcoming season features more renowned world music artists than years before. We are excited because Duke Performances is the largest world music university presenter in the area. Will you feature such a strong world music program in future seasons?
We are exclusively interested in programming interesting and potentially transcendent performance. If great international artists continue to tour — across dance, music and theater — and we are able, with reasonable marketing, to attract a sizable audience to these performances, we will attempt to make more programming of this variety. It is important, perhaps, to remind local audiences that it is rather costly for international artists to tour and that their ability to do so is predicated on making a series of successful concerts while touring the US in as efficient and cost-effective manner as possible.
We are only able to program this work, and pay the fees of the artists, if audiences make a concerted effort to see the work — there is, perhaps, an ethical dimension here — if you want to live in a place that features art from around the world, you have some obligation to actively patronize that work.
AR – Can you tell us about the upgrades or changes in Page Auditorium after the renovation?
AG – Page Auditorium, Duke’s largest venue, has undergone a year-long 5-million dollar renovation. When the work is done, the venue will seat right about 1,150 people. The work done in the hall will, first & foremost, modernize a space that was built in 1934 & degraded with poor additions for nearly 8 decades.
The renovation will better allow us to effectively present music that requires some amplification, there will be flown arrays over the stage and a ceiling treatment to help dampen reverberation in the room. The lighting and seating have been modified to help focus the attention of the audience on the stage. Nearly all of the renovation budget has been spent making Page a more comfortable and effective venue for audiences — we think that folks who’ve for generations found the hall challenging, will be most pleased with the changes that have been implemented throughout the space.
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For more information and ticket details go to dukeperformances.duke.edu
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
