America.gov-The Arts: Music

Yo-Yo Ma Project Celebrates a Decade of Musical Collaboration

Carlos Aranaga — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:04:49 -0400

Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project marks 10 years of cultural diplomacy with a North American tour featuring music from Eurasian and Western artistic traditions. “We live in a world of increasing awareness and interdependence,” Ma says. “I believe that music can act as a magnet to draw people together.”

Singer/Composer Stevie Wonder Honored at White House Ceremony

Michael Bandler — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:11:50 -0400

In accepting the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at the White House, music legend Stevie Wonder becomes only the second recipient of the rare, prestigious award. Wonder also joins other artists to perform for President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their guests.

Baltimore Orchestra Performs Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

Michael Bandler — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:05:43 -0400

Marin Alsop, artistic director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, is the first woman to lead a major orchestra in the United States. She joins America.gov to discuss a recent musical tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and the emergence of new African-American composers of classical music.

Song by Iranian Star Strikes Chord at Obama Victory Celebration

Sonya Weakley — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:29:40 -0400

A song that Persian pop star Farshid Amin wrote about change caught the eyes and ears of the Democratic Party in Orange County, California. Obama campaign organizers invited the singer to perform “Pray with Me,” written after an unexpected meeting on an airplane, at the party’s election night celebration.

Early Music of the American South

Amor Safi — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:29:20 -0400

In the 1920s, recordings of several related African-American styles – blues, jazz, gospel, and others – began to appear, often sold in small, black-owned shops, and to grow in popularity. Black artists began to achieve national audiences, and their musical influence soon reached other kinds of popular music.

U.S. Musicians Put Their Own Twist on Popular Persian Songs

Esther Agbaje — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:44:31 -0400

The music may be foreign, but the musicians are not. “We try to bring the music to non-Persians. We’re Americans and we put our own spin on it, but we still respect the music,” said Megan Weeder, a member of NoorSaaz, an American band that plays Persian music.

Fourth of July Music Reflects U.S. History, Diversity

Lauren Monsen — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:18:27 -0400

The patriotic songs that are staples of U.S. Independence Day celebrations reflect the nation’s history and the contributions of immigrants to the country’s culture. Perhaps the piece that captures the 4th of July spirit best is “Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa, the son of immigrants.

Artists with Disabilities Shine at Washington’s Kennedy Center

Lauren Monsen — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:01:51 -0400

The 2008 VSA arts International Young Soloists competition, which recognizes outstanding musicians and vocalists with physical disabilities, awarded top honors to an oud player from Jordan and a Senegalese hip-hop group, among others.

Kansas City Celebrates Its Legacy of Jazz

Kathryn McConnell — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:01:56 -0400

"While New Orleans was the birthplace of jazz, America's music grew up in Kansas City," brags a Kansas City Web site. The American Jazz Museum in the city’s historic 18th and Vine district draws visitors from around the world who want to explore America's rich culture of jazz or hear live music.

Poetic Theater Ensemble Enthralls Audiences on Six-Nation Tour

Lauren Monsen — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:02:45 -0400

A New York-based poetic theater ensemble called Universes -- which fuses elements of hip-hop, blues, jazz, gospel and Spanish bolero -- discusses a recent overseas tour to Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Romania, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom that has broadened the group’s fan base and musical horizons.

America Savors Its Music During Jazz Appreciation Month

Michael Jay Friedman — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:12:50 -0400

Each April, the United States celebrates Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), an opportunity to savor a major American contribution to world culture. Initiated by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, JAM aims to focus public attention on the music, and on the many talented composers, musicians and other contributors to the sound. John Edward Hasse, the Smithsonian’s curator of American Music, provides a brief history of jazz and related musical forms as well as information on places to hear performances by famous jazz musicians throughout history.

Martin Luther King Jr.: A Life Remembered in Words and Song

Lauren Monsen — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:02:19 -0400

A new book and CD, issued in tribute to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., are helping to teach U.S. schoolchildren about the history of their nation’s civil rights movement from its earliest days in the 1950s to the present, emphasizing the movement’s ongoing commitment to equality, justice and racial reconciliation.

Kennedy Center to Showcase Artistic Traditions of Arab World

Michael Bandler — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:32:11 -0400

“The best way to learn about other people,” says Michael Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, “is through their culture.” Kaiser has spent the past four years shaping a three-week festival on the arts and culture of the Arab world. The festival will take place at Washington’s Kennedy Center early in 2009.

“Trailblazers” Honored by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Melody Merin — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:14:31 -0400

Artists honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 represent many of the genres that have shaped the vibrant American musical landscape. Pop icon Madonna, singer-songwriters John Mellencamp and Leonard Cohen, British rockers the Dave Clark Five and soul music producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff are among the most recent inductees.

Hip-Hop Exerts Influence on Contemporary Portraiture

Lauren Monsen — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:40:39 -0400

Hip-hop music has been a potent vehicle for creative expression, but its role in contemporary portraiture has received little attention -- until now. A new exhibition in Washington -- RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture -- shows how artists in a variety of media create portraits filtered through the prism of hip-hop culture.

U.S.-Mali Cultural Ties Enriched by Musicians, Filmmakers

Lauren Monsen — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:44:24 -0400

Mali and the United States enjoy a long-standing cultural partnership nurtured through exchanges, projects and tours, say U.S. diplomats. One diplomat predicts that the two nations’ friendship, reinforced by the close contacts among their artists, will set the stage for a successful visit to Washington by Mali’s president, Amadou Touré.

Washington Opera Wins Accolades for Drama, Passion, Artistry

Lauren Monsen — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:58:05 -0400

When the Washington National Opera marked its 50th anniversary season in 2006 amid critical acclaim and successful ticket sales, it was clear that the institution has come a long way from its modest beginnings in 1956, when music critic Day Thorpe and a few kindred spirits formed the fledgling company.

Music Role-Playing Games Popular Among Teens, Adults

Carolee Walker — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:05:41 -0400

Millions of teenagers -- and, increasingly, adults -- around the world are playing music on interactive computer game platforms in virtual rock bands. USINFO looks at the growing popularity of virtual music games, also known as music role-playing games.

Jazz, America’s “Best Ambassador,” Breaks Down Barriers

Louise Fenner — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 11:41:54 -0400

VOA broadcaster Willis Conover, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington were honored at a jazz festival in Washington, where their contributions to both jazz and international mutual understanding were discussed by current jazz stars from around the world.

Genesis World Music Ensemble Weaves Unique Tapestry of Styles

Timothy B. Receveur — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 14:03:47 -0400

Neither vast physical distances, nor language barriers, nor religious differences could prevent the Genesis World Music Ensemble from putting together a performance for a packed house in Washington. With band members living in five different countries and several different time zones, the group of Muslim and Jewish musicians found it impractical to hold traditional practice sessions. Instead, they relied on technology and creativity -- singing into phones, trading e-mail messages and sound files, and translating between languages -- to work together from April to August without ever meeting in person until two days before the concert.

Ozomatli Showcases American Music in Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia

Tim Receveur — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:38:54 -0400

The Los Angeles-based Latin rock, hip-hop and funk band Ozomatli recently played free concerts in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia, bringing a message of hope, peace and diversity as cultural ambassadors for the United States. The Jordanian newspaper Al-Rai may have summarized the trip best with the banner headline, "The American Ozomatli Performs Its Music: A Crazy Artistic Mixture." Some bands might consider this description an insult, but for Ozomatli it is a badge of honor. The band and its songs are a combination of different languages, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, musical genres and instruments.

Video Game Music Played by Orchestras Draws Audiences

Elizabeth Kelleher — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:59:09 -0400

Live concerts with renowned symphony orchestras playing music from video games started with three performances in 2005. Growing in popularity, Video Games Live, as the concerts are known, has 30 performances around the world in 2007, some of which draw thousands. “It looks like these types of productions are catching on,” says Daniel Ozment, assistant conductor of the Master Chorale of Washington. “It’s a lot of fun to do.”

White House Celebrates Black Music

Elizabeth Kelleher — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:12:51 -0400

The White House celebrates Black Music Month with an afternoon concert that includes jazz, rhythm and blues (R&B) and classical-rap fusion music. At one point the 220 guests, many of them prominent persons in Washington, stand up from gold-painted chairs to clap, tap and even dance. President Bush calls it his “chance to listen to some good music,” beginning the event on a light-hearted note that sets it apart from the more formal public gatherings often held there.

Yale Alumni Chorus Shares Power of Music with South Africans

Jim Fisher-Thompson — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:57:23 -0400

Members of Yale University's alumni chorus hope to share the power of music as they perform in South Africa and donate concert proceeds and musical instruments to local groups. Visiting and performing in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, Cape Town and surrounding townships, the 150 singers aim “to foster international understanding through the universal language of song," their president, Sharon Agar, tells USINFO.

Fulbright-mtvU Fellowship Sees Music as Force for Understanding

Louise Fenner — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:54:47 -0400

Four American university students will go overseas to research the music of other cultures and create compact discs, documentary films or Web sites that explore the power of music as a force for global understanding. In separate projects, the students will travel to Cambodia, Panama, South Africa and Jerusalem. While abroad, they will share their experiences on blogs, in photographs and video clips on mtvU, the MTV channel for U.S. colleges and universities. The four are the first winners of the Fulbright-mtvU fellowships, a new partnership between the U.S. Department of State and mtvU, which has 7 million viewers on more than 750 campuses.

Kantara’s Message of Peace Blends Tunisian and American Music

Louise Fenner — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:11:07 -0400

Tunisian instruments play old-time Appalachian mountain music at the nation’s cultural center during Kantara’s first U.S. concert tour. “A couple of old fiddle tunes have now become oud and darbouka tunes,” says Brennan Gilmore, a co-founder of the group that performs a fusion of American folk and bluegrass music with traditional Tunisian rhythms and melodies. Many people are surprised that music from two such different cultures could blend, but once people hear the group perform they understand, according to Riadh Fehri, the other founder of Kantara.

Persian, Anatolian Music Captivates U.S. Audiences

Lea Terhune — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 14:40:51 -0400

Kayhan Kalhor, Iranian kamancheh master, and Erdal Erzincan, renowned Turkish baglama player, are touring the United States, performing for enthusiastic crowds. But Kalhor tells the Washington File he wants to spend more time in Iran: “There is need for new ideas and music and people who can conduct the musical scene. Because … after the revolution, a number of good artists in every art, not just musicians -- major painters, filmmakers, writers, poets -- they just left the country. And what happened was this big gap between generations.”

Persian Master Says Music Links Cultures

Lea Terhune — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:50:18 -0400

Hip-Hop About "Giving Voice to the Voiceless," Rap Artist Says

Michelle Austein — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:10:24 -0400

Hip-hop artists are part of a "global family" because of their shared passion for their music, says American rap artist Toni Blackman. Rap is "about giving voice to the voiceless," she says. "It can definitely be used as a tool for diplomacy.”

New Orleans: The City That Gave Us Jazz

Stephen Kaufman — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 11:25:01 -0400

New Orleans, the devastated but recovering city, will be forever associated with the birth of jazz music, the first original art form developed in the United States, which went on to spread across the continent and around globe during the 20^th century. As people are coming to terms with the human devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, many in the United States and around the world also are concerned over the fate of the places where New Orleans’ musical heritage originated.

Classical Music Very Much Alive in the United States

Ralph Dannheisser — Fri, 04 Apr 2003 15:41:42 -0400

Despite premature reports of its demise, the classical genre is still very much alive. Most orchestras sound better than ever and opera companies are attracting more young people, says Tim Smith, author and classical music critic for the Baltimore Sun.

U.S. Composers Not Afraid of Being Popular

Ralph Dannheisser — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 09:50:44 -0400

Today U.S. operatic music is more listener-friendly and there's more of a chance that it will be accepted by audiences, says David Gockley, the San Francisco Opera general director known for commissioning new opera works and promoting new talents.