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PROGRAM TEN
About the Artists
You and your students will meet artists who represent three different musical 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 concert experience at the end of your semester.
Puerto Rican–born percussionist, composer, and arranger Juan J. “Juango” Gutiérrez was instrumental in helping to revitalize bomba and plena music in New York City ...
Puerto Rican–born percussionist, composer, and arranger Juan J. “Juango” Gutiérrez was instrumental in helping to revitalize bomba and plena music in New York City and the rest of the US. In 1983, he met leading plena musician Marcial Reyes in New York; together they created Los Pleneros de la 21. Juan has remained at the helm of Los Pleneros de la 21 ever since as the mastermind behind its ongoing success, including a 2005 Grammy nomination. For his vision and contribution to music, Juan was named an NEA National Heritage Fellow. Julia Gutiérrez-Rivera is Juan’s youngest daughter. As Los Pleneros de la 21 formed when she was 10 months old, Julia was weaned on bomba and plena, and is now a guiding member of the group and respected bomba and plena dancer and educator.
Starr Busby (who accepts all pronouns said with respect) is a singing, writing, acting, and teaching artist committed to the liberation of all people. They may be seen playing solo shows ...
Starr Busby (who accepts all pronouns said with respect) is a singing, writing, acting, and teaching artist committed to the liberation of all people. They may be seen playing solo shows with their loop station, Francis, or fronting the Brooklyn-based experimental soul band People’s Champs. Starr has also performed with The Gorillaz, Esperanza Spalding, X Ambassadors, Kimbra, and Alice Smith. Selected appearances include Moby Dick (American Repertory Theatre), the Drama Desk Award winner Octet (Signature Theatre), Where Love Lies Fallow (The Shed), Apollo Music Café: The Soul Cypher (Apollo Theater), #BlackGirlMagic Show, Mikrokosmos (Steirischer Autumn Festival and Nottingham Contemporary), and The Girl with the Incredible Feeling (Festival dei Du Mondi). They were an Ars Nova 2020–2021 Vision Resident. Starr also enjoys working as an arts educator at Carnegie Hall and Long Island University, where they teach as an adjunct faculty member.
Falu is a Grammy Award–nominated, internationally recognized artist who is known for her rare ability to blend a distinctly modern and inventive style with her formidable Indian ...
Falu is a Grammy Award–nominated, internationally recognized artist who is known for her rare ability to blend a distinctly modern and inventive style with her formidable Indian classical vocal training. Originally from Mumbai, Falu moved to the US in 2000 and was appointed as a visiting lecturer at Tufts University. Since then, she has collaborated with a range of outstanding artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Wyclef Jean, Philip Glass, Ricky Martin, Blues Traveler, and A. R. Rahman, and has performed for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Her first album, Falu, was featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s exhibit Beyond Bollywood as a representative of the voice of an Indian American artist who transcends boundaries. In 2015, she was named one of the 20 most influential global Indian women by The Economic Times of India, and she won the Women Icons of India award in 2018. Falu’s Grammy Award–nominated project Falu’s Bazaar takes families on a musical journey through South Asia. Falu performs with the band Falu & Karyshma, which is known for its ability to weave together the intensity of rock, the improvisation of jazz, and the intricacies of India’s deepest musical traditions. It released its most recent album, Someday, in 2020.
