Latest Videos:
February 2021:
Mazz Swift
"If all you want to do is make beautiful things..that itself is sort of revolutionary. When I say that I like to make pretty things, it's because that's my calling. But I don't think that's necessarily the role of the artist in society. The role of the artist in society is to be an artist and to be themselves."
"Understanding of the beauty, depth, breadths and power of African American culture and how we are all affected by it on a global level...that actually makes me feel more centered and more important to me as an artist".
December 2020:
Rosabella Gregory
“I think that the fear of failure, stops you if you let it…you can't teach someone unless you can remember how it is to be taught…[and] all these things, I feel like they're connected to this idea of growth and being open.”
Native American Heritage Month - November 2020:
Tiffany Ayalik and Inuksuk Mackay
“Realizing the reasons why there are so many barriers to overcome, came together naturally in a way that we can be advocating for not only throat singing, but the reclamation of other areas of Inuit culture for us.”
Disability Employment Awareness Month - October 2020:
Adeliia Faizullina
“When I started, my approach to composing was linear thinking because Braille notation is linear, so I read Braille with my finger and memorized it.
I’m happy now because I can imagine textures and ideas with my inner hearing and without memorizing. I don't know if I would obtain this way of working I would be a sighted person.”
Hispanic Heritage Month - September 2020:
Angélica Negrón
"Being true to who I am as an artist and human... hopefully encouraging others to do the same and not feel that they have to perform whatever version of Latinidad you think others might want, that there's not such a thing.
There's multiplicities in all of us, and being an artist is a big part of it, it's expressing those through your art form."
Past Artists:
Carla Canales, Mezzo-Soprano
Praised by Opera Magazine for a voice that “grabs the heartstrings with dramatic musicality.” Has received Sphinx Medal of Excellence, University of Michigan Alumni Award, engaged as Turnaround Artist on President's Committee for the Arts, and Musical America Mover and Shaper of 2018.
Joshua Cerdenia, Composer/Pianist
Originally from the Philippines and based in New York City. Work spans orchestral pieces, chamber music, art song, and musical theater, alumnus of The Juilliard School and current member of the Tony Award-winning BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.
Sandeep Das, Indian Tabla
Leading Tabla virtuoso. Has collaborated, performed with, and composed for major symphony orchestras, string quartets, and jazz musicians with regularly featured concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl, Royal Albert Hall and the Concertgebouw. Recently named 2019 Guggenheim Foundation Fellow and Silkroad Ensemble member.
Molly Joyce, Composer/Performer
Composer and performer whose work focuses on disability as a creative source, including activity on her vintage toy organ and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Music has been described as of “serene power” by the New York Times and “impassioned” by The Washington Post. Graduate of Juilliard, Royal Conservatory in The Hague, and Yale School of Music.
Kaoru Watanabe, Japanese Flute
Composer and musician whose performances are grounded in traditional Japanese music while inhabiting combinations of musical worlds. Performs on Japanese percussion and shinobue flute, and renowned for ability to collaborate with a diverse array of visionary international artists, including with Yo-Yo Ma, Jason Moran, and Silkroad Ensemble member.