Long Beach Symphony Orchestra presents a Chamber Ensemble Concert of music by composers of different backgrounds and cultures. The Bob Cole Conservatory of Music World Percussion Group, led by myself, will be presenting the World Premier of a live performance of "Speaking Voice" by Derrick Spiva, Jr. (http://derrickspiva.com.) There will be two performances, one at 3pm and one at 5pm. Both are FREE!!!

"Long Beach Symphony joins with the Homeland Cultural Arts Center in embracing and celebrating diversity at the intimate Manazar Gamboa Community Theater at MacArthur Park. The Center is a vital community space for sharing and exploring traditional, contemporary and urban arts. This program features works by the brilliant Cuban jazz artist Paquito D’Rivera for clarinet, bassoon, piano and Latin percussion, and award-winning Cambodian composer Chinary Ung’s moving Khse Buon for solo viola. Long Beach Symphony members Gary Bovyer, clarinet, and Julie Feves, bassoon, are joined by guest artists Mark Menzies, piano and viola, and Aaron Serfaty, percussion."- http://www.lbso.org/special-events/view/id/7/-/sounds-and-spaces

Our students have been hard at work this Spring of 2014 to bring you a few pieces that have never been performed at LMU before! Come enjoy an afternoon of world music. The first half of our concert will introduce you to the music of Ghana, West Africa. We will be performing pieces that are originally from or have been adapted by the Ewe tribe. The West African Ensemble will feature our first guest artist, SK Kakraba, son of Kakraba Lobi, one of the most renown gyil (Ghanaian xylophone) players in Ghana.

The second half of our concert will be our Balinese Gamelan, performing with our second special guest of the day, I Nyoman Wenten, one of Bali's most accomplished musicians and dancers. We're definitely in for a treat!!!

Murphy Hall, LMU

General Admission $10

Student/Seniors $5

LMU Ticket Office: (310) 338-5466

Enjoy seeing how the arts are affecting people's lives in so many different ways? This weekend, starting Thursday, April 3, 2014 through Sunday, April 6, 2014, Loyola Marymount University is hosting a symposium where representatives and artists who are sharing their art and their lives for the greater good can share their experiences with you. There will be so many different artforms, including but not limited to visual art, dance, music, film, writing, etc. 

I will be sharing the experiences I've gained through teaching with ArtSMART, a program run by the CalArts Community Arts Partnership (CAP), Los Angeles Department of Mental Health, and Los Angeles Department of Probation. For the past two years, I have been working with minors that are serving their probation inside of probation camps where they eat, sleep, study, and receive treatment. Through ArtSMART, I have been teaching West African drumming and sometimes dancing, as well, at these probation camps. The students not only learn about another culture and how to play some of the instruments, but they also pick up various social and life skills in a fun way, without really realizing it.

Come join myself and others who have experienced working prisons, juvenile halls, and probation camps, doing various art forms, trying to make a difference. We will be presenting our portion "Doing Time" on Sunday, April 6, 2014 from 11am-1pm in the Barnelle Theater nearby Foley Hall. The event is free to everyone and parking is $10.