Community Gamelan

Event Information
Event Date: 
January 27, 2020 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Venue: 
Room 0300, School of Music Building
Address: 
1114 W. Nevada Street
Description: 

As part of the center’s programming, the Robert E. Brown Center for World Music offers community members the opportunity to learn and play traditional Balinese Gamelan music under the direction of I Ketut Gede Asnawa, a master gamelan musician and composer at the University of Illinois. A gamelan is an orchestra consisting mainly of keyed metallophones, gongs, and drums, often functioning as accompaniment to dance, dramas, and other Balinese performance arts.

Our Monday evening classes run from 6pm to 8pm in Room 0300 at the School of Music, 1114 W. Nevada Street. Community gamelan is open to all, free of charge, with no prior experience required. No credit is offered. There is no need for registration, but participants who join the ensemble should understand that regular attendance is expected in order to enjoy making music in an orchestra dependent upon the contribution of every player. Community Gamelan members will be asked to perform at our end of semester concert on Saturday, May 2 at 2pm

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Love Light: Songs of Life

Event Information
Event Date: 
January 25, 2020 - 4:00pm - 5:15pm
Venue: 
McKinley Presbyterian Church
Address: 
809 S. Fifth Street, Champaign
Description: 

Amasong will present a concert featuring compositions by American women composers. The Bow-Dacious String Band will be our special guest.

This program will be performed again on January 26, same time and location.

Admission: 
Suggested donation $15 - more if you can, less if you can't
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Winter Tales Program: How the West Was Spun

Event Information
Event Date: 
February 20, 2020 - 7:00pm
Venue: 
Spurlock Museum
Address: 
600 S. Gregory St, Urbana
Description: 

Storyteller and activist Dovie Thomason (Lakota, Apache and Scot descent) uses her indigenous ancestry to weave an epic story that deconstructs the phenomenon of Buffalo Bill Cody’s 1880s “Wild West” spectacle, which depicted Indians, buffalo, and horses, pursued by cowboys, cavalry, and publicists seeking a “New World to conquer.” Over a century later, Thomason upgrades Cody’s so-called history lesson in her insightful, wise and unsparing performance, reframing this narrative through Native experience.

This talk is part of the Spurlock Museum’s 18th annual Winter Tales celebration honoring the cultures of Indigenous Americans and the wisdom and practices they share with others. Also included in this year’s events are a family concert of storytelling and traditional teachings and a talk on the American Indian boarding school experience. Visit the Museum’s online events page (https://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/events/#all) for dates and times. All events are free.

This event is supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Admission: 
free and open to the public
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Workshop: Introduction to Afro-Brazilian Percussion

Event Information
Event Date: 
March 1, 2020 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Venue: 
Capoeira Angola Center of Mestre João Grande – Illinois
Address: 
201 Lincoln Square, Space 157, Urbana
Description: 

Robert E. Brown Center for World Music is collaborating with Capoeira Angola Center of Mestre João Grande – Illinois to offer a series of free community workshops on Afro-Brazilian drumming traditions including samba, samba-reggae, and maracatu. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with the richness of these traditions in a small-group setting designed to be both fun and challenging. The aim of this introductory series is to establish an ongoing community ensemble.

Workshops will be led by Mark Becker, a student of Contra-Mestre Denis Chiaramonte in the Capoeira Angola tradition and a musician who has participated in and led 'blocos' in both Brazil and the United States.

Beginner and experienced players welcome. Instruments will be provided.

Three classes will be offered on:

Sunday, Feb 2, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:30p
Sunday, Feb 16, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:30p
Sunday, Mar 1, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:30p

Admission: 
free and open to the public
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Workshop: Introduction to Afro-Brazilian Percussion

Event Information
Event Date: 
February 16, 2020 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Venue: 
Capoeira Angola Center of Mestre João Grande – Illinois
Address: 
201 Lincoln Square, Space 157, Urbana
Description: 

Robert E. Brown Center for World Music is collaborating with Capoeira Angola Center of Mestre João Grande – Illinois to offer a series of free community workshops on Afro-Brazilian drumming traditions including samba, samba-reggae, and maracatu. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with the richness of these traditions in a small-group setting designed to be both fun and challenging. The aim of this introductory series is to establish an ongoing community ensemble.

Workshops will be led by Mark Becker, a student of Contra-Mestre Denis Chiaramonte in the Capoeira Angola tradition and a musician who has participated in and led 'blocos' in both Brazil and the United States.

Beginner and experienced players welcome. Instruments will be provided.

Three classes will be offered on:

Sunday, Feb 2, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:30p
Sunday, Feb 16, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:30p
Sunday, Mar 1, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:30p

Admission: 
free and open to the public
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Workshop: Introduction to Afro-Brazilian Percussion

Event Information
Event Date: 
February 2, 2020 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Venue: 
Capoeira Angola Center of Mestre João Grande – Illinois
Address: 
201 Lincoln Square, Space 157, Urbana
Description: 

Robert E. Brown Center for World Music is collaborating with Capoeira Angola Center of Mestre João Grande – Illinois to offer a series of free community workshops on Afro-Brazilian drumming traditions including samba, samba-reggae, and maracatu. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with the richness of these traditions in a small-group setting designed to be both fun and challenging. The aim of this introductory series is to establish an ongoing community ensemble.

Workshops will be led by Mark Becker, a student of Contra-Mestre Denis Chiaramonte in the Capoeira Angola tradition and a musician who has participated in and led 'blocos' in both Brazil and the United States.

Beginner and experienced players welcome. Instruments will be provided.

Three classes will be offered on:

Sunday, Feb 2, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:30p
Sunday, Feb 16, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:30p
Sunday, Mar 1, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:30p

Admission: 
free and open to the public
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Performance: Music from Mozambique by Nyttu Chongo

Event Information
Event Date: 
February 1, 2020 - 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Venue: 
Spurlock Museum
Address: 
600 S. Gregory St, Urbana
Description: 

The Spurlock Museum welcomes Nyttu Chongo for a concert of music from Mozambique. This event highlights traditional instruments such as the timbila, m’bira, inanga, xitende, xizambi, xipendani, djembe, xigovia, and kankubwe. The concert is free and all are invited.

Chongo is an African storyteller’s musician who believes that the past lives on, in, and through music. African music played on traditionally-designed instruments is an important continuation of ancient values, knowledge, and culture that must be shared—just like a river cannot reject what flows in from its headwaters. Chongo invites audience members of all backgrounds to join with him in celebrating and deepening an understanding of these ancient practices.

His training is based on the knowledge received from his grandfather, Mabihani Xhongo, and the Ancients. Later, Chongo studied at the Cross Roads Music School in Maputo, Mozambique. His professional experience includes teaching, musical composition, production, and performance worldwide.

Chongo is a fiscal year 2020 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

This event is supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council Agency and The Robert E. Brown Center for World Music.

Admission: 
open to the public, admission free
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Workshop: An Introduction to the Traditional Music of Mozambique

Event Information
Event Date: 
February 1, 2020 - 10:00am - 11:30am
Venue: 
Spurlock Museum
Address: 
600 S. Gregory St, Urbana
Description: 

Mozambican musician Nyttu Chongo presents the workshop “An Introduction to the Traditional Rhythms, Sounds, and Instruments of Mozambique.” Chongo is an African storyteller’s musician who believes that the past lives on, in, and through music. African music played on traditionally-designed instruments is an important continuation of ancient values, knowledge, and culture that must be shared—just like a river cannot reject what flows in from its headwaters. Chongo invites audience members of all backgrounds to join with him in celebrating and deepening an understanding of these ancient practices.

This workshop is for students of music, musicians, and members of the general public ages 14 and up. Registration is free, but attendance is limited. Contact Kim Sheahan at ksheahan@illinois.edu or 217-244-3355 to make a reservation. This event is supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council Agency and The Robert E. Brown Center for World Music.

More about Nyttu Chongo:
His training is based on the knowledge received from his grandfather, Mabihani Xhongo, and the Ancients. Later, Chongo studied at the Cross Roads Music School in Maputo, Mozambique. His professional experience includes teaching, musical composition, production, and performance worldwide.

Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Admission: 
Free Admission, Reservations Encouraged
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Spurlock Museum and CWM to host musican from Mozambique

The Spurlock Museum and Robert E. Brown Center for World Music are partnering to present Nyttu Chongo to campus and community audiences from January 29 through February 1. An African storyteller's musician, Nyttu Chongo (pronounced Nee-too SHO-ngo) believes that the past lives on, in, and through music. African music played on traditionally-designed instruments is an important continuation of ancient values, knowledge, and culture that must be shared.

Fourth Annual CU Folk & Roots Festival Winter Weekend

The Robert E. Brown Center for World Music is pleased to collaborate with CU Folk and Roots Festival to present Nyttu Chongo, a St. Paul, MN - based, Mozambican musician who performs in the African storyteller tradition on percussion and strings. His training is based on the knowledge received from his grandfather, Mabihani Xhongo, and the Ancients, along with his studies at the Cross Roads Music School in Maputo, Mozambique.

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