Silk Road Ensemble members are trained in many different artistic and cultural traditions, but they are all united by their curiosity, their eagerness to learn from others, and their passionate engagement with the world. These gifted performers have long been realizing the vision of the Silk Road Project in their own undertakings.
This year the Project began offering stipends of up to $2,000 to Ensemble members for creative initiatives of their own that involve music or education—collaborative projects about which these artists are passionate, and which have the potential to reach a broad population.
"The musicians in our Ensemble are embarking on some very innovative and creative endeavors, many with deep historical links," said Laura Freid, CEO and executive director of the Silk Road Project. "We are excited to be able to offer them this new level of artistic support and to call attention to their individual talents and interests."
Selected by committee, the first three Ensemble members to receive creative project stipends were Wu Man, Siamak Jahangiry and Mike Block.
Discovering a Musical Heartland
For the last few years pipa player Wu Man has been at work on a short documentary film about the rich folk music traditions in China. Despite the country's surge toward urbanization, in smaller farming villages around the country music has retained traditional forms. As Wu Man learned in her travels, though, it has become increasingly difficult for musicians to pass on their knowledge to new generations. Filming for Discovering a Musical Heartland: Wu Man Returns to China has already been completed, and Wu Man's stipend will support the film's soundtrack. We are looking forward to using the final DVD in our educational programs.
Lullabies
In Iran, traditional lullabies are slipping from the memories of many in Siamak Jahangiry's generation. Siamak, who plays the ney with the Ensemble, will use his stipend to help document and translate the ancient songs that have been passed from mother to child for generations in the Mazandaran province in northern Iran, where they are still being sung. He will give the melodies new life by recording the voices of Iranian singers from the region, providing an English translation of the lullabies, and creating a chamber arrangement for possible interpretation by the Silk Road Ensemble.
Global Art, Local Audiences
Cellist Mike Block will present an innovative new performance series at the Brooklyn Lyceum starting this spring. "GALA (Global Art, Local Audiences)" will feature Mike performing with different guest collaborators each week. The shows, which he plans to broadcast online, will allow artists from wildly different backgrounds to create new works and interpret existing music together. The audience will be as likely to hear an Iraqi folk tune as a Beethoven string quartet or a Charlie Parker standard, and improvisation and audience participation will be hallmarks of the series. Mike's stipend will help support the preview season of four Saturday evening performances in May 2011.
Other Silk Road Ensemble creative projects supported by the Silk Road Project
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