September 22-28, 2011, Silk Road Ensemble Residency at Harvard University Will Include a Free Concert and Opportunities for Student Involvement
September 6, 2011, Boston, MA — The critically acclaimed Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma will be in residence at Harvard University from September 22 through September 28, 2011. In addition to a free concert for the Harvard community on September 27, this week will offer students opportunities for performing and arranging globally inspired music. This residency is part of a five-year affiliation between the University and the Silk Road Project that will include a series of performances, workshops and collaborative projects throughout the next several years. The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma, recently called “one of the 21st century’s great ensembles” by the Vancouver Sun, will perform a free concert on Tuesday, September 27, 2011, at 7 p.m. in the New College Theatre, 10-12 Holyoke Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, presented by the Office of the President. Repertoire will include “The Taranta Project” by Sicilian composer Giovanni Sollima, music of the Roma people, and pieces by Ensemble members. Musicians including Sandeep Das (India), Kojiro Umezaki (Japan), Cristina Pato (Galicia, Spain), Dong-Won Kim (Korea) and Kayhan Kalhor (Iran) will be on campus for the residency. A limited number of free tickets, one per Harvard ID, will be available through the Harvard Box Office (617-496-2222) beginning September 20. At 6 p.m. on September 27, Silk Road Project Artistic Director Yo-Yo Ma and Mahindra Humanities Center Director Homi Bhabha will also give a pre-concert talk for ticket holders on neighborliness and the arts. “We are looking forward to welcoming our musicians from the world over on campus again this semester,” said Laura Freid, chief executive officer and executive director of the Silk Road Project. “Whenever we have a chance to bring together these artists from their many home countries, we use our time to the fullest, and this week will be no exception. We’ll workshop two new pieces by Lev Zhurbin (Ljova) and Michael Ward-Bergeman, whom we are thrilled to have join us for the first time. We’ll meet with faculty from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Education and the Business School to plan for ways in which our artistic and academic explorations can intersect during the coming years. We have also invited undergraduate musicians to join us in some hands-on projects and will share their works with the community.” Student musicians and composers are invited to participate in this residency in two ways. Selected students will learn pieces from the Ensemble’s non-Western repertoire to perform alongside the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at the September 27th concert. Advanced string (including guitar), wind and percussion players may apply. In addition, students will be coached in creating their own arrangements for the Silk Road Ensemble, based on melodies presented by Ensemble members. Student arrangers will have an opportunity to observe the professional commissioning workshops and to meet the composers and artists. To apply for one or both of these opportunities, students should email a brief paragraph about their background and reasons for wanting to participate to workshop@silkroadproject.org by September 8, 2011. Members of the Ensemble will play student arrangements as works in progress along with the two new commissions by Ljova and Ward-Bergeman on Monday, September 26, 2011, at 7 p.m. in the New College Theatre. Free tickets to this informal presentation will be available through the Harvard Box Office beginning September 20. A nonprofit organization promoting innovation and learning through the arts under the artistic direction of Mr. Ma (’76), the Silk Road Project has been affiliated with Harvard University since 2005. In July 2010 the Silk Road Project moved to the Harvard campus to provide opportunities for Harvard students and faculty to work with Silk Road Ensemble members and to act as a working laboratory at the University, exploring intersections between the arts and academics and encouraging partnerships with local arts, cultural and educational institutions. In January 2012, the Silk Road Ensemble will return to campus for a commissioning workshop to develop music by composers David Bruce, Glenn Kotche, Vijay Iyer, and Kojiro Umezaki. For more on future programs visit our calendar. Hyosung Corp. is Lead Sponsor of the Silk Road Project 2011-2014. Rolex is the Exclusive Partner of the Silk Road Project. MetLife Foundation is the Official 2011 Tour Sponsor of the Silk Road Project. Silk Road Project residency program activities are supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Members and guests of the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at this residencyMike Block, cello
Nicholas Cords, violaSandeep Das, tabla Haruka Fujii, percussion Jonathan Gandelsman, violin Joseph Gramley, percussion Colin Jacobsen, violin Kayhan Kalhor, kamancheh Dong-Won Kim, jang-go and vocals Yo-Yo Ma, cello Cristina Pato, gaita Shane Shanahan, percussion Kojiro Umezaki, shakuhachi Michael Ward-Bergeman, accordion, composer Lev Zhurbin (Ljova), composer
The Silk Road EnsembleThe Silk Road Ensemble is a collective of internationally renowned performers and composers from more than 20 countries. Each Ensemble member’s career responds to one of the preeminent artistic challenges of our times: to maintain the integrity of art rooted in authentic traditions while nourishing global connections. Many of the musicians first came together under the artistic direction of Yo-Yo Ma at a workshop at Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts in 2000. Since then, in various configurations, Ensemble artists have collaborated on a diverse range of musical and multimedia projects, presenting innovative performances that spring from Eastern and Western traditions and contemporary musical crossroads. The Silk Road Ensemble has recorded five albums and performed to critical acclaim throughout Asia, Europe and North America.
Yo-Yo MaWhether performing a new concerto, revisiting a familiar work from the cello repertoire, coming together with colleagues for chamber music, reaching out to young audiences and student musicians, or exploring cultures and musical forms outside the Western classical tradition, Yo-Yo Ma seeks connections that stimulate the imagination. Mr. Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras throughout the world, his recital and chamber music activities, and his recording projects. In each he works to expand the cello repertoire through both performances of lesser-known twentieth-century music and the commissioning of new works. Mr. Ma has made more than 70 albums, including over 15 Grammy winners, reflecting his wide-ranging interests. Besides the standard concerto repertoire, he has recorded many of the works he has commissioned or premiered and has made several successful crossover discs. Mr. Ma serves as the Artistic Director of the Silk Road Project. He is also a Creative Consultant to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts & Humanities.
The Silk Road ProjectThe Silk Road Project is a nonprofit arts and educational organization with a vision of connecting the world’s neighborhoods by bringing together artists and audiences around the globe. Founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998 as a catalyst to promote innovation and learning through the arts, the Silk Road Project takes inspiration from the historical Silk Road trading routes as a modern metaphor for multicultural and interdisciplinary exchange. Under the artistic direction of Mr. Ma, the Project presents performances by the Silk Road Ensemble, engages in cross-cultural exchanges and residencies, leads workshops for students, and partners with leading cultural institutions to create educational programs and materials. The Project has been involved in commissioning and premiering more than 60 new musical and multimedia works from composers and arrangers from around the world.
Additional Media Resources
For high-resolution photographs, contact Heidi Koelz.An interview with Michael Ward-Bergeman previews his new piece in development in the Silk Road Project September 2011 newsletter.
This video interview with Kayhan Kalhor about his piece “Silent City” was filmed during the previous Silk Road Ensemble residency at Harvard University in March 2011.
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