The African Music and Dance Ensemble, WVU Steel Band and WVU Balinese Gamelan Ensemble will join together to present a world music showcase concert at the Creative Arts Center on Thursday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. inside the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre.

Under the direction of Michael Vercelli and graduate assistants Adam Wolf and Ryan Frost, the program will include music from Ghana, Uganda, Trinidad and Indonesia.

Highlighting the concert will be a piece entitled “Baakisimba.” From the royal Bugandan court of Uganda, “Baakisimba” will showcase the traditional 17-key xylophone known as the akadinda.

Special guests on the program are the Vandalia Dancers, presenting European folk dancing. Formed in 2002, the group is comprised of experienced dance instructors who work to preserve folk dancing in West Virginia.

This dance group performs and teaches Morris, Scottish, Irish, English, German, and other European folk dancing through annual 4-H events that reach thousands of West Virginia youth and adults. The group is also a featured performer at The Vandalia Gathering, held each year on the grounds of the State Capitol.

The WVU African Music and Dance Ensemble is an experiential ensemble, focusing its repertoire on the traditional and contemporary music of Africa and the Diaspora. The music is taught primarily through oral tradition, allowing members to experience the learning process without written music. The goals of the ensemble include fostering a growing community interested in the African arts, while focusing on an expanding body of music to encourage the oral tradition between new and returning members.

The WVU Steel Band program offers students an opportunity to explore the traditions of Trinidadian steel band music, as well as classical and popular arrangements and transcriptions.

The WVU Balinese Gamelan Ensemble features a variety of instruments from the Indonesian island of Bali, such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, gongs and flutes.

Members of all ensembles are encouraged to use personal experiences in shaping their performance practice, and are comprised of both undergraduate and graduate students from many disciplines across the WVU campus.

For tickets, visit the Mountainlair or CAC Box Office or call 304-293-SHOW.

-WVU-

04/06/10

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4841 ext. 3108, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu

Follow @wvutoday on Twitter.