January 23, 2007

YO-YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE TO SHARE THEIR MUSICAL JOURNEY WITH WEST COAST AUDIENCES, MARCH 9-17

Silk Road Project Tour Brings the Ensemble to Santa Barbara, Berkeley and Seattle

January 22, 2007, Providence, R.I. — The Silk Road Project, connecting artists and audiences around the world under the artistic direction of cellist Yo-Yo Ma, will send its renowned Silk Road Ensemble on tour to the West Coast in March 2007 for concerts in Santa Barbara, Berkeley and Seattle. Sixteen remarkable musicians, rooted in the traditions of eight nations, will perform together, re-tracing ancient paths of cultural exchange while exploring some of today’s most exciting musical crossroads.

“This year, the Silk Road Ensemble is undertaking a round-the-world adventure, traveling thousands of miles from the United States to Europe and China,” Yo-Yo Ma said. “For all of the musicians, our West Coast tour is a very exciting part of this journey, since it takes us through the modern-day cultural mix of the Pacific Rim.”

Ford Motor Company is continuing as a Global Corporate Partner to the Silk Road Project as part of its long-standing tradition of arts education support.

At each stop on the West Coast tour, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble will perform two concerts, each with a different program. Dates and venues are:

March 9 and 10: Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA, presented by UCSB Arts and Lectures
March 12 and 13: Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA, presented by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra
March 16 and 17: Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA, presented by Cal Performances

Among the works to be performed on the programs are Kayhan Kalhor’s “Gallop of a Thousand Horses” (described by one critic as “a high-octane romp”) and “Silent City” (commemorating a Kurdish city destroyed by Saddam Hussein); Osvaldo Golijov’s “From Air to Air,” which evokes Andalusia’s mixture of Arab, Jewish and Christian folk melodies; Jeeyoung Kim’s “Ancient Bell” (scored for violin, cello, Persian bamboo flute, Korean drum, and a recording of an 8th-century Korean bell); and classical music of Azerbaijan,performed by vocalist Alim Qasimov, kamancheh (fiddle) player Rauf Islamov, and tar (lute) player Ali Asgar Mammadov.

The tour also includes one of the residency programs that are central to the mission of the Ensemble and the Silk Road Project. From March 4 through 7, the Silk Road Ensemble will be in residence at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In its UCSB workshops, the Ensemble will join with students to engage in cultural exchange across disciplines and art forms. The residency will enrich the Silk Road Project’s educational initiatives by exploring new curricular approaches to the arts, literature, history and music of the Silk Road regions.

The Silk Road Ensemble’s tour has provided the impetus for further exploration of the ancient Silk Road in Santa Barbara and Berkeley.  In Santa Barbara a series of interdisciplinary events, titled Silk Road Cultural Encounters, will be presented by UCSB Arts and Lectures, UCSB Division of Humanities and Fine Arts and the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center from January until March 2007. A half-day symposium, organized in association with the Caucasus and Central Asia Program of International and Area Studies and the Department of Music, on March 17 has also been organized to coincide with the Berkeley performances.

Following its West Coast tour, the Silk Road Ensemble will perform a series of concerts in Chicago, both by itself and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (April 12-21 and June 4). The Ensemble will also appear in concert at the Lucerne Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland (August 23-25) and in China (September 29 - October 13), and will be in residency at the Rietberg Museum in Zurich, Switzerland (August 26 - September 2.)

Kalhor’s Silent City was made possible by a grant from the Fromm Music Foundation and was first performed at Harvard University in 2005. The current arrangement was developed at the Weill Music Institute Professional Training Workshop and was first performed at Zankel Hall in September 2006.  Kim’s Ancient Bell, Evan Ziporyn’s Sulvasutra and Golijov’s Air to Air were arranged for the 2006 Weill Music Institute Professional Training Workshop, presented by The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall in partnership with the Silk Road Project and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Azeri music will be performed by Azerbaijan vocalist Alim Qasimov. 

For more information about the Silk Road Project and the Silk Road Ensemble, the public is invited to visit www.silkroadproject.org.

About the Silk Road Ensemble

The Silk Road Ensemble is a collective of musicians interested in exploring the relationship between tradition and innovation in music from the East and West.  Each musician's career illustrates a unique response to one of the great challenges of our times: how to nourish global connections while maintaining the integrity of local traditions.

Most of the Ensemble musicians first came together at a Silk Road Project workshop at the Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts in 2000, under the artistic direction of Ma. Since then, various combinations of these artists, whose diverse careers encompass and often intermingle Western and non-Western classical, folk and popular music, have performed a variety of programs in Europe, Asia and North America. Among the Ensemble’s current projects is Silk Road Chicago, presented from June 2006 to June 2007 in a partnership among the Silk Road Project, the City of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This yearlong, citywide celebration features performances, exhibitions, demonstrations and events that explore cross-cultural discovery and celebrate the Silk Road’s artistic legacy.

About the Silk Road Project

The Silk Road Project is a not-for-profit arts organization founded in 1998 by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who serves as artistic director, and led by Laura Freid, executive director and CEO. Inspired by the cultural traditions of the historic Silk Road, the Project brings artists and audiences around the world together and acts as a catalyst to promote innovation and learning through the arts.

At the center of the Silk Road Project are its concerts, university and museum residencies and workshops in North America, Europe, Central Asia, China and Japan. Commissioning new works is also a central mission. To date, the Project has commissioned 25 new works from artists representing nine countries.
Ford Motor Company is Global Corporate Partner to the Silk Road Project as part of its longstanding tradition of arts education support. The Silk Road Project is grateful to Mikimoto for sponsorship of its International Museum Residency Program. Silk Road Project Cultural Exchange Initiative activities are assisted financially by the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Silk Road Project is affiliated with Harvard University and Rhode Island School of Design, where the Ensemble collaborates with students and faculty as artists in residence.

Ford Motor Company and the Silk Road Project

Ford Motor Company is proud to continue its partnership with the Silk Road Project and Yo-Yo Ma on this extraordinary initiative.  Since the launch of the Silk Road Project, Ford has been a committed partner in the Project’s efforts as a catalyst for cross-cultural fertilization and transformation. In its sixth year as a Global Corporate Sponsor, Ford is dedicated to the spirit of innovation and adventure that the Silk Road embodies, and in our increasingly global community, the Silk Road Project is a testament to the richness gained from exchange and exploration.

Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services is committed to creating opportunities that promote corporate citizenship, philanthropy, volunteerism and cultural diversity for those who live in the communities where Ford does business.  Established in 1949 and made possible by Ford Motor Company profits, Ford Motor Company Fund supports initiatives and institutions that foster innovative education, auto-related safety, and American heritage and legacy.  National programs include Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies, which provides high school students with academically rigorous 21st century learning experiences, and Driving Skills for Life, a teen-focused auto safety initiative.  The Ford Volunteer Corps, established in 2005, continues Ford's legacy of caring worldwide.  Through the Volunteer Corps, salaried employees, union members, retirees and their families participate in a wide range of volunteer projects in their communities. For more information on programs made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services, visit www.ford.com.