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World Music Institute Announces Fall / Winter 2021-2022 Season
Curated by Artistic Director Brian Keigher, WMI's 2021-2022 season features performances from multinational devotional ensemble Riyaaz Qawwali.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Aug. 25, 2021
World Music Institute will return to presenting live music after last year's COVID pause, celebrating its 36th year in NYC with an exciting and eclectic lineup of global artists.
Curated by Artistic Director Brian Keigher, WMI's 2021-2022 season features performances from multinational devotional ensemble Riyaaz Qawwali; a Malian-American collaboration by the Mike Block and Balla Kouyaté Ensemble, Cuban diva Daymé Arocena; Argentine nuevo tango masters Quinteto Astor Piazzolla; Afro-Carribean sounds from Aurelio Martinez & The Garifuna Soul Band; Guinean singer/songwriter Natu Camara; legendary, Palestinian oud master Simon Shaheen, GRAMMY-winning South African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a holiday Hanukah celebration from The Klezmatics; and the world premiere of a new work from Persian santoor virtuoso Ehsan Matoori.
In addition, WMI will continue to present their free, monthly, "WMI Plus at Home" virtual series, with Leyla McCalla on Sept 13 and Natu Camara on Sept 27, and more to come. Looking ahead to Spring 2022, already confirmed are Small Island, Big Song (March 18), Sona Jobarteh (March 20), and Les Filles de Illighadad (April 7), with the full Spring/Summer schedule to be announced in January 2022.
See WMI's full Fall/Winter schedule, with venue, artist, and ticketing info below, or at the WMI website or digital brochure.
World Music Institute Fall / Winter 2021-2022 Season:
ORIGINS SERIES
Riyaaz Qawwali
Friday, September 17, 2021
Doors: 7PM | Show: 7:30PM
129 W 67th St
Manhattan
Tickets: $30 | $45
Following a sold-out WMI performance at the historic Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 2019, Riyaaz Qawwali is back in NYC. The ensemble is made up of an ethnically and spiritually diverse group of musicians from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who are dedicated to promoting awareness of qawwali and honoring the 700-year old tradition of this devotional musical form.
COLLABORATIONS SERIES
Mike Block and Balla Kouyaté Ensemble
Friday, October 15, 2021
Doors: 7:30PM | Show: 8PM
129 W 67th St
Manhattan
Tickets: $30 | $45
Mike Block and Balla Kouyaté have been collaborating for over a decade, bonding over their shared interest in music from across the world, and their commitment to innovating on their instruments. Balla Kouyaté, a balafon player and singer coming out of the Djeli tradition of Mali, was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA. To this day, the first balafon, over 1,000 years old, remains in the Kouyaté family. Mike Block is an American cellist, singer, and composer, and a Grammy Award-winning musician with the Silkroad Ensemble, originally trained in western classical music.
COUNTERPOINT SERIES
Ehsan Matoori - "Voices and Bridges"
Friday, October 29, 2021
Doors: 7PM | Show: 8:00PM
2537 Broadway at 95th St
Manhattan
Tickets: $35 | $45 |$55 | $100 - VIP
VIP ticket includes preferred seating and artist meet and greet
WORLD PREMIERE: Iranian-born composer and Persian santoor virtuoso Ehsan Matoori believes that his music "should bring happiness to people and bring people together". In this world premiere live event, Ehsan and special guests will present "Voices and Bridges", a multi-lingual, multicultural collaboration that pairs performances of medieval and modern poetry from different cultures with original music that he composed.
WOMEN'S VOICES SERIES
Daymé Arocena
Thursday, November 11
Doors: 7PM | Show: 8PM
158 Bleecker St
Manhattan
Tickets: $25 First 100 GA tickets | $30 Advanced GA | $35 Day of Show | $50 VIP - reserved seating
Daymé Arocena draws inspiration from the intertwining musical legacies of her native Cuba. A singer, composer and choir director, her conservatory training was combined with an upbringing grounded in Cuba's musical foundations. She was accepted at nine years old into one of the country's prestigious music schools and studied a choir-directing course rooted in Western classical tradition. At the same time, she grew up with the day-to-day schooling in folkloric music that's common in many Cuban households. Emerging from a culture where hybrids and amalgamations are the norm, Daymé embraces that reality.
COUNTERPOINT SERIES
Quinteto Astor Piazzolla- 100 Years of Astor Piazzolla
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Doors: 6:30PM | Show: 7:30PM
2537 Broadway at 95th St
Manhattan
Tickets: $35 | $45 | $55 | $100 - VIP
VIP ticket includes preferred seating and artist meet and greet
The Quinteto Astor Piazzolla was formed in 1998 with five virtuoso musicians - Pablo Mainetti (bandoneon), Nicolás Guerschberg (piano), Serdar Geldymuradov (violin), Armando de la Vega (guitar), Daniel Falasca (double bass) and Julián Vat (Musical Director) - after their famed bandleader passed. These exceptional artists are gathering to celebrate the centennial of the legend who revolutionized the traditional Argentinian musical form by performing the pure sound of the visionary composer and master bandoneonist's nuevo tango in today's world.
GLOBAL/LOCAL SERIES
The Klezmatics - "Happy Joyous Hanukkah"
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Doors: 6:30 PM | Show: 7:30 PM
2537 Broadway at 95th St
Manhattan
Tickets: $35 | $45 | $55 | $100 - VIP
VIP ticket includes preferred seating and artist meet and greet
Since their emergence more than 25 years ago, the Grammy Award-winning Klezmatics have raised the bar for Eastern European Jewish music and today are among the most successful proponents of klezmer music in the world. Often called a "Jewish roots band," The Klezmatics have changed the face of klezmer and led a popular revival of this ages-old, nearly forgotten art form. The Klezmatics' music is a comfortable hybrid that appeals equally to those with no previous exposure to the music and those already familiar with it. This celebratory performance will feature Hanukkah-themed songs, of which the lyrics to most were written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, who was inspired by the Jewish culture he discovered while living in Coney Island in the 1940s.
ORIGINS SERIES
Aurelio Martinez & The Garifuna Soul Band
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Doors: 6:30PM | Wabafu Garifuna Dance Co: 7:30PM |Aurelio Martinez & Garifuna Soul: 8:30PM
158 Bleecker St
Manhattan
Tickets: $20 first 100 tickets | $25 GA Advance | $35 GA Day of Show | $45 VIP includes reserved seating
Singer-songwriter, guitarist, percussionist, and political activist, Aurelio Martinezis one of Central America's most gifted performers. Born in Honduras into a family of talented musicians, the artist is today known as the Cultural Ambassador of the Garifuna nation. The Garifuna are people of Amerindian and West African descent who live along the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras. While deeply rooted in the mix of African, Caribbean, and Latin sounds that make up the traditional repertoire of Garifuna music, Aurelio is carrying this rich culture into the future.
WOMEN'S VOICES SERIES
Natu Camara
Thursday, January 6, 2022
Doors: 6PM | Show: 8PM
City Winery
25 11th Ave (at 15th St)
Manhattan
Tickets: $30 | $32 | $35 | $40 | $45
One of the brightest stars coming out of the West African nation of Guinea (now based in NYC) and founder of West Africa's first all-female hip hop group Ideal Black Girls (IBG), Natu Camara is a singer/songwriter who weaves beautiful musical tapestries of her beloved homeland. Singing in five languages, she uses her songs to build cultural bridges and to share her commitment to the education and empowerment of women and girls. Like her artistic influences including Miriam Makeba, Fela Kuti, and Baba Maal, her uplifting message is wrapped in a blend of afro-rock, pop, and soul that will inspire you to get up on your feet and dance.
ORIGINS SERIES
Simon Shaheen with The Near Eastern Music Ensemble
Friday, January 21, 2022
Doors: 7:30PM | Show: 8PM
Kaufman Music Center
129 W 67th St
Manhattan
Tickets: $30 | $45
Palestinian composer and oud and violin master Simon Shaheen will be joined by the Near Eastern Music Ensemble that he founded in an effort to promote Arabic music throughout the world. In 1994, Shaheen received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor for traditional arts in the US. In addition to his work in traditional and classical Arabic music, Shaheen has participated in many cross-cultural collaborations including performances with Sting, Quincy Jones, Bill Laswell, and The Klezmatics. He is also a Professor at Berklee College of Music.
MASTERS OF AFRICAN MUSIC SERIES
Saturday, January 29, 2022
Doors: TBD | Show: TBD
Apollo Theater
253 W 125th St
Manhattan
Tickets: $40 | $45 | $50 | $100 - VIP
VIP Ticket includes preferred seating and artist meet and greet
For over a half century, South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo have been delighting audiences all over the world with their uplifting vocal harmonies, signature dance moves, and charming onstage banter. The four-time Grammy Award-winning ensemble came to global fame when they collaborated with Paul Simon on his 1986 album Graceland, and went on to perform with other artists including Dolly Parton, Josh Groban, Emmylou Harris, and more. This will be the first time the legendary group have performed at the historic Apollo Theater.
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