Sat

3/10/2012

8:00pm

World

Sumkali and Wisaal

Arabic and Indian Fusion

• $25 Assigned Rows 1-2
• $15 Assigned Rows 3-5
• $10 General Admission
• $5 Student

• WISAAL
• Igor Houwat, oud and bandleader
• Will Cicola, clarinet
• Ben Fuhrman, mandolin and composition
• Tim Patterson, double bass
• Ty Forquer, percussion and composition
• Mike List, percussion
• SUMKALI
• John Churchville, drums/tabla
• Mahesh Ganesan, percussion
• Dan Piccolo, percussion
• Meeta Banerjee, sitar
• Scott Brady, bansuri, saxophone
• Atmaram Chaitanya, kirtan
• Anoop Gopal, violin
• Prashanth Gururaja, violin
• Dave Sharp, bass
• Vishrut Srivastava, keyboard, voice

Event Details

Michigan Music Monthly Episode 4 from Lansing Public Media on Vimeo.

 

Two of Michigan’s premier world music groups come together for a musical journey around the world. With them they bring the traditional sounds, rhythms and instruments of Indian, Klezmer, and Arabic music, blending them seamlessly with western harmony and jazz improvisation. These two groups represent the incredible diversity and cultural fusion found in Michigan’s premier college towns.  The plan is to feature each band doing a set of their music and then at the end both groups join on stage for a big rollicking improvisation!  Do not miss this one night only event!

Classical Arabic instrumental pieces from the twentieth century become frameworks within which traditional Arabic forms and rhythmic patterns blend with Western harmonic backgrounds and rhythmically charged pop and world-music grooves. Arabic instruments - oud, percussion, and bass - are joined byKlezmer-influenced clarinet, American folk mandolin, and Indian tabla. Contemporary fusion pieces and original compositions combine these various influences and allow for extended improvisations that showcase the different improvisatory traditions represented in Wisaal.

Wisaal has been active in creating projects and finding performing opportunities. In December 2011, Wisaal received the Excellence in Diversity Awards for “Excellence in Advancing Global Competency,” from Michigan State University. A feature about Wisaal was produced during summer 2011 and is available for viewing on Lansing Public Media. Wisaal has performed at various venues around Michigan, from Charlevoix to South Haven, Michigan State University's Wharton Center Cobb Great Hall, to intimate settings in local coffee shops. Wisaal has performed in festivals and social functions in the Detroit area for the Arab-American community. The group has recently diversified its performance offerings by collaborating with a Lansing based dancer, Leilah. Wisaal released a short debut recording, "Mosaic" in 2011 and is working on its first feature cd to be released in 2012. To learn more, please visit www.wisaalmusic.com

Sumkali is Michigan’s premier Indian music group. There 2010 debut C.D. ‘Mandali’ has earned them international recognition. They are currently working on there second album, due out early 2012.  Sumklai has been doing performances, masterclasses, festivals and workshops since 2003 when they were formed by tabla player John Churchville and sitarist Meeta Banerjee.  They continue to work with the University Musical Society, (UMS) and Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS), at the University of Michigan to help bring awareness to the rich traditions of Indian music. To learn more, please visit www.sumkali.com

 

Igor Houwat

Interested in exploring his Lebanese roots, Igor started studying the oud (Arabic lute) in January 2010 with Abdel Karim Bader, a master of Arabic traditional music, and founded Wisaal in February 2010. Igor has also studied Arabic music with virtuosos Bassam Saba, Simon Shaheen, and Andre Hajj. He has a Masters in Ethnomusicology from Michigan State University, where he also previously earned an M.M. in Classical Saxophone Performance. Igor has studied music and performed in France and Lebanon. He co-started the Arabic "jazz" 'Oriental Colors' trio in Lebanon (playing the alto saxophone), has played with the 'Ensemble de Saxophones Ile-de-France' in Paris, and played baritone saxophone in an award winning saxophone quartet at the Cergy Pontoise Regional Conservatory in France. 

Will Cicola

Will is a doctoral clarinet student at MSU, studying with Caroline Hartig. He previously earned an M.M. from Miami University (OH) and a B.M. from Ithaca College. A Klezmer specialist, he studied Klezmer history and performance practice with Joel E. Rubin.  Will has performed with some leading figures in the Klezmer revival, including Michael Alpert, Steven Greenman, Pete Rushefsky, and the Klezmatics, and has directed many Klezmer ensembles, including MSU's own Michigan State Klezmorim. He can be heard with the Ithaca College Klezmorim on the album "Music for Hawaiian Gardens," released in 2005.

Ben Fuhrman

Ben is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Lansing, Michigan. He has previously earned a Bachelor’s in violin performance at Hope College, and a Master’s and Doctorate in music composition from Michigan State University. His principle teachers include Sunny Cirlin, Mihai Craioveanu, Mark Sullivan, and Ricardo Lorenz.  A recipient of numerous commissions, Ben’s compositions have been performed at, amongothers, the IMMARTS TechArts Festival 2007, Electro-Acoustic Juke Joint 2008 and 2009, the Digital Arts Week 2008 Diamond in the Mud Exhibition, the Kresge Gallery, the ARC Gallery, the 2009 World Saxophone Congress, the 12 Nights Electronic Music and Art Festival, University of Central Missouri New Music Festival 2010: Dualities, Colorado State University, Oklahoma State University, and elsewhere in the US, Brazil, Switzerland, and Asia. Ben was composer-in-residence at ART342 in Fort Collins, Colorado in 2010.

Tim Patterson

Tim is a composer and double bassist from Lawrence, Kansas. He and his wife Sarah are living in East Lansing while they both attend Michigan State University to study music. When not working on a new piece of music, Tim collaborates with many musicians and groups across mid-Michigan, notably the MSU Klezmorim. He has played a wide variety of styles from classical orchestral music to experimental noise rock.  Tim received his B.M. in composition from the University of Kansas, having studied with Forrest Pierce and James Barnes. During his time there he received many commissions for pieces of music, performed with the symphony orchestra, and performed with the new music ensemble. Currently, he is working towards his M.M. in composition, studying with Ricardo Lorenz at MSU.

Ty Forquer

Ty is a freelance percussionist currently living in Lansing, Michigan. Ty performs with a wide variety of groups, and his current projects include a neo-folk band and a salsa band. He is also a co-artistic director of the East Lansing based Scene&heard new music concert series. Ty has received a Bachelor of Music degree in percussion performance from Central Michigan University and a Master of Music degree in percussion performance from Portland State University. His primary teachers have been Tobie Wilkinson, Andrew Spencer, and Joel Bluestone. Ty is currently working towards a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Michigan Stae University where he is studying with Gwendolyn Burgett-Thrasher, Jon Weber, and Randy Gelispie.

Mike List

Mike is a drummer/percussionist based in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan who plays a variety of western and non-western percussion instruments. He earned his undergraduate and master degrees in music from Central Michigan University under the tutelage of Dr. Andrew Spencer. He also has attended various workshops to learn frame drumming and has studied tabla with Navjot Sandhu in the United States and with Manoj Kadam in India.  Mike has performed in a variety of musical settings including rock, jazz, classical, contemporary art music, percussion solo, and world music fusion ensembles. He has collaborated with fusion artists such as Chris Freeman, the Northwoods Improvisers and currently works with the marimba world percussion duet “to hit. He has also substituted in regional symphonies such as the Traverse Symphony and Ardrian Symphony. Along with performing, Mike teaches private lessons, instructs marching percussion and guest lectures on non-western music.

John Churchville

John Churchville holds a BFA Degree in World Music Performance from California Institute of the Arts, where he majored in North Indian Classical music, and minored in West African music and dance. He has been playing drums for over 20 years, and has studied tabla for the last ten. Currently, John is the music director at the "Go Like the Wind" School in Ann Arbor. He has performed in India, Germany, Canada, and all over the United States with a wide range of groups including the Gratitude Steel Band, Deep Blue Jazz Trio, Ann Arbor Kirtan, the U of M Indian Classical Music and Dance group, and as a featured performer with the Michigan Pops Orchestra.

Mahesh Ganesan

Mahesh Ganesan grew up in Chennai, a city in the southern part of India and did his entire schooling there and graduated with an B.E in Chemical Engineering. He is currently working on his PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with focus on bacterial polymers. Mahesh learned the Mridangam while playing for 8 years in Chenna, and underwent a month long course on the nuances of playing the Kanjira. While in undergrad, he got accustomed to playing the drum pads, basic flute, and the Indian version of the Jews Harp. He has accompanied numerous upcoming artistes in concerts back in Chennai and was a percussionist with the Music Troupe of National Institute of Technology, Trichy. Mahesh was awarded the Bharath Kalachar Scholarship in Percussion Instruments and the Best Percussionist Award from his high school. He is currently performing with the Michigan Sahana and Sumkali.

Dan Piccolo

Dan Piccolo is a drummer and percussionist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has performed, taught, and studied internationally during his professional career, which has spanned nearly twenty years. Dan holds both a BM in Percussion Performance and a MM in Improvisation from the University of Michigan School of Music, and has studied tabla intensively in Varanasi, India. He performs regularly throughout the US and abroad in a wide variety of settings. Dan is also an active educator, teaching the full range of percussion instruments in private and classroom settings. Please visit www.dpbeats.com for more information.

Meeta Banerjee

Meeta Banerjee began learning the sitar at the Detroit Institute for Indian Music. She has performed all over Michigan in venues such as the Detroit Institute of Arts, Ann Arbor Book Festival, and the N.American Bengali Conference. In 2005, she and John were invited as featured artists for the Michigan Pops Orchestra's "Pops Around the World". In 2000, she founded the Saadhanai Classical Music Group, a student-run organization at the University of Michigan. Saadhanai is dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Indian Hindustani classical music.

Scott Brady

Scott Brady is a Michigan native and graduate of the University of Michigan-Flint, where he earned his BA Degree in classical and jazz performance on saxophone. He began studying the traditional Indian Bansuri, (flute) in 2003 when he won a scholarship to study music education in India. Since then he has studied and performed with Srimati Madhumita Saha, and master tabla player Pandit Samar Saha. Scott continues to teach, perform and promote music education and performance in Southeast Michigan.

Atmaram Chaitanya

Atmaram Chaitanya has been singing and playing Indian-style kirtan for over 38 years and is currently with the Ann Arbor Kirtan group. He has helped facilitate bhakti kirtans at ashrams, retreats, yoga studios, festivals, and homes around the U.S. and India. Atmaram plays harmonium and tambura and has had the honor of accompanying in concert master tabla players Pandit Samar Saha and Anuradha Pal, as well as renowned khyal singer Sugata Marjit and classical Bengal vocalist Shrimati Madhumita Saha.

Anoop Gopal

Anoop Gopal is majoring in Biomedical Engineering in the University of Michigan with a plan to complete his Master’s in the same field by 2013. He was born in Bangalore, India and moved to Canton, MI when he was almost ten years old. Anoop has been learning Carnatic classical violin on and off since he was seven years old but he also taught himself how to play the keyboard and a little guitar. Under the teachings of Prashanth Gururaja, he now performs with Michigan Sahana: Indian Classical Music & Dance as well as Sumkali

Prashanth Gururaja

Prashanth Gururaja grew up in New Jersey, where he started his South Indian Classical (Carnatic) violin training at a young age. He frequently accompanies local and international artists in Carnatic concerts around the Midwest, Northeast, and Canada. He also has been member of Michigan Beats, a fusion group made up of top local Indian Classical musicians and members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and was a featured performer with experimental jazz group Kozora. A diverse performer, he continues to train and perform regularly in both Carnatic and world music ensembles around Detroit/Ann Arbor, including Michigan Sahana, the Indian Classical Music group at the University of Michigan.

Dave Sharp

Dave Sharp was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and became deeply devoted to the study of jazz with bassist and jazz educator Marion Hayden. While living in California, he studied and performed with legendary jazz bassist Herbie Lewis (McCoy Tyner, Cannonball Adderly, Les McCann) in the Bay Area of San Francisco. He served as bassist and composer for the modern jazz ensemble Spheres of Infuence, toured Japan with the Jeff Griffin Quartet, and served as touring bassist for the seminal rock band The Melvins (Atlantic Records).

Vishrut Srivastava

Vishrut Srivastava is studying business administration at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, along with psychology and music, and plans to graduate in 2013. Originally from Canton, Michigan, Vishrut has been singing Carnatic classical, light classical, and a cappella music most of his life. He is currently studying Carnatic music with Padma Sundar in Troy, Michigan. He plays harmonium & keyboard (10 years) along with some Indian percussion (4 years), tabla, and dholak. Vishrut currently performs with Maize Mirchi A Cappella, Michigan Sahana: Indian Classical Music & Dance, and Sumkali.