Program Six
About the Artists
You and your students will meet New York City–based artists who represent three different musical genres and cultural traditions; many have reinvented these deeply rooted traditions to make them their own. Together, you will learn songs and dances that you will perform along with the artists during the digital concert experience at the end of your semester.
Related Pages:
Michael, Bluegrass
Michael Daves has been called “a leading light of the New York bluegrass scene” by The New York Times. He has worked with Chris Thile, Steve Martin, Tony Trischka, and Rosanne Cash in addition to performing solo and with a band of roots-music innovators. Michael’s 2011 debut album with Thile, Sleep with One Eye Open, received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. His album Orchids and Violence features 12 bluegrass tunes, each recorded in two versions: acoustic and electric.
Browse Unit: Bluegrass with Michael
Qian Yi, Chinese Traditional
Qian Yi began her study of classical Chinese opera (Kunqu) at the Shanghai Theatre Academy’s Chinese Opera School at age 10. Since coming to the US, she has performed classical and contemporary Chinese theater at the Lincoln Center Festival, where she played the lead role in the 19-hour opera The Peony Pavilion, and Spoleto Festival USA, as well as at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The New York Times has called Qian Yi, “China’s reigning opera princess.” In 2008, Qian Yi made her western opera debut in the title role of The Bonesetter’s Daughter at the San Francisco Opera. In 2013, she created and produced a contemporary Chinese musical called Dreaming of the Phoenix for the Smithsonian Institution’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
Browse Unit: Chinese Traditional with Qian Yi
Layth, Iraqi Folk
Layth Sidiq is an award-winning violinist, vocalist, and composer who has toured the world and performed with major artists such as Simon Shaheen, Danilo Perez, Javier Limon, Jack Dejohnette, Gary Burton, and others. He directs the Arab Music Ensemble at Tufts University as well as the Center for Arabic Culture Children’s Orchestra; he also leads the Layth Sidiq Quartet. In 2018, Layth was one of the winners of the Zbigniew Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition in Poland.
Browse Unit: Iraqi Folk with Layth