October 2016 - Gateways to World Music Schedule

Gateways to World Music is a series of free concerts and lectures, open to the public, presented by Robert E. Brown Center for World Music introducing new audiences to both traditional folkloric music and contemporary music developed from these roots. The Fall series will feature three programs beginning on Wednesday, October 5 with Projecto Arcomusical, a percussion sextet reimagining the Afro-Brazilian berimbau through a repertoire of uniquely powerful, original chamber music. Founding member Gregory Beyer will offer a pre-concert, 7:30pm talk titled, “Advancing the Art of the Berimbau: Nana Vasconcelos to Arcomusical,” followed by an 8pm concert at the School of Music Building Auditorium located at 1114 W. Nevada Street, Urbana. This performance and lectureship is supported by the Lorado Taft on Art Fund / College of Fine and Applied Arts.

The Gateways series continues on Saturday, October 15 at 8pm with a Music of Asia concert featuring performances of Japanese koto music by Jessica C. Hajek and Hilary Brady Morris, Korean SamulNori percussion by Gah Rahk Mah Dahng, Balinese gamelan and dance by Bali Lantari, and a blend of traditional and contemporary Chinese music by Jasmine Field Orchestra. Presented in conjunction with the Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs, organized by the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, this concert in the School of Music Building Auditorium showcases University of Illinois students and community members.

(UPDATE 10.10.16 - The following event has been cancelled.) Gyil music of Ghana performed by Bernard Woma and Matt Jacklin will be presented in two parts on Friday, October 21. At 4pm, the Spurlock Museum (600 S. Gregory Street, Urbana) will host a lecture / demonstration by the artists introducing the history, development, and styles of music played on the Gyil, a small xylophone indigenous to Ghana. Mr. Woma, a master Gyil player considered a cultural treasure of Ghana who has performed for many dignitaries including Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, and Bill Clinton, and Dr. Matt Jacklin, who completed his Doctoral of Musical Arts in percussion performance from the U of I in 2011, will present a full concert at 8pm in the School of Music Building Auditorium. These two programs were made possible by a generous grant from the Urbana Public Arts Commission.