Musical Explorers Family Concerts To Return To Carnegie Hall in January

On Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., dynamic artists from around the world will perform in Zankel Hall as part of the Musical Explorers Family Concerts, an interactive experience celebrating unique musical cultures and traditions. The performances feature Mele Hawai'i, traditional Hawaiian music, led by Grammy Award winner Kalani Pe'a, Iraqi folk music with violinist and singer Layth Sidiq, and Dominican Roots music with guitarist, composer, and singer Yasser Tejeda. Free pre-concert activities will be offered one hour prior to each performance, preparing parents, caregivers, and children to sing and dance along with the artists.

Earlier in the week, from Tuesday, January 9–Friday, January 12, thousands of schoolchildren in grades K–2 will visit Carnegie Hall to sing and dance in high-energy culminating concerts. New York City public school students have been learning about these same artists throughout the semester as part of the Musical Explorers program, which teaches singing, listening, and basic music skills in the classroom as children study songs from these musical traditions and reflect on their own communities. For more than a decade, Musical Explorers has been taught in New York City classrooms, and this season, the program will reach more than 7,000 students across New York City.
 

“I am constantly in awe of the quality of program and performances and this year was no exception. My students just loved it! One first grader said after the live concert that it was the best day of his life, and he wished the show would never end.”—Manhattan Day School

Over the past four years, Musical Explorers has expanded tremendously with a digital platform that reaches teachers nationally, providing free online classroom resources including lesson plans, interactive maps, artist-led videos, and digital concert experiences filmed live at Carnegie Hall. Thousands of teachers across the US are utilizing Carnegie Hall's all-digital curriculum, bringing musical traditions from around the world to their classroom. Click here to hear firsthand from educators about why their students love Musical Explorers.

Additional Musical Explorers concerts will be offered in May 2024.  

About the Artists
Three-time Grammy Award winner Kalani Pe'a is a singer, songwriter, and producer of Hawaiian contemporary and soul music. Born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii and now living on Maui, he is a proud Hawaiian immersion graduate. His musical range runs from traditional chant to Hawaiian classics and original songs from showtunes to R&B, and he was honored as Hawaii's 2022 Male Vocalist of the Year. He spent 10 years of his life teaching Hawaiian language, music, and culture, and creating project-based learning and STEM curriculum for preschool through high school at Kamehameha Schools, private schools established by the beloved Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Kalani conducted teacher training programs for Hawaiian community education programs from the Big Island of Hawaii, Maui, and Kaua‘i. As a full-time touring musician, he conducts Hawaiian music workshops worldwide and he continues to share his passion through music. He believes his music is his medicine; Hawaiian music is essential; and Hawaiian music recognizes the indigenous peoples and the landscapes of Hawaii. E ola ka hā (Long live the breath of our people).

Layth Sidiq is a Grammy Award–nominated violinist, composer, educator, and artistic director of the New York Arabic Orchestra. He has toured the world and shared the stage with such major artists as Simon Shaheen, Danilo Pérez, and Jack DeJohnette, as well as performing in prestigious venues like the London Jazz Festival, Boston Symphony Hall, WOMEX (Worldwide Music Expo), Panama Jazz Festival, and more. He is featured on multiple award-winning albums, and his first record Son of Tigris debuted at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2016. Among Layth's awards are second place at the Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition in 2018 (where he was the first Arab to participate) and Best International Artist at the 2020 Boston Music Awards. He also directs the Center for Arabic Culture's Youth Orchestra Program in Boston and has been invited to teach at Carnegie Hall's Music Educators Workshop as part of its expert faculty. He is the lead vocalist and violinist for Assassin's Creed: Mirage (Fall 2023).

Yasser Tejeda is an award-winning Dominican composer, guitarist, vocalist, and producer based in Brooklyn. According to Chicago Reader, his “elegantly polished compositions contain a fascinating, delicate interplay of past and present … underlined by raw, ancestral music meant to move bodies and bring about communion.” Juan Luis Guerra praised Yasser's mission, calling it the “marvelous example of what's happening with Dominican music.” He has released two commercial albums, Kijombo and Mezclansa, with his group Palotré. Mezclansa was dubbed one of the “100 essential recordings of Dominican music” by the Dominican National Association of Art Writers (Acroarte) and his second album Kijombo received six awards from Dominican Republic's Premios Indie Dominicano, including Best Album. In 2021, he surprised audiences by releasing his first solo EP called Interior, which features some of his most acclaimed compositions in a raw, intimate setting performed acoustically. His third studio album La Madrugá, which features the single “Tú Ere' Bonita,” was released in 2023. A versatile guitarist, Yasser performs with Vicente García, Flor de Toloache featuring Miguel Sotomayor, Alex Ferreira, and Latin Grammy winner Prince Royce.

About Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute
Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) creates visionary programs that embody Carnegie Hall's commitment to music education, playing a central role in fulfilling the Hall's mission of making great music accessible to as many people as possible. With unparalleled access to the world's greatest artists, WMI's programs are designed to inspire audiences of all ages, nurture tomorrow's musical talent, and harness the power of music to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. An integral part of Carnegie Hall's concert season, these programs facilitate creative expression, develop musical skills and capacities at all levels, and encourage participants to make lifelong personal connections to music.

More than 800,000 people each year engage in WMI's programs through national and international partnerships, in New York City schools and community settings, and at Carnegie Hall. This includes more than 155 orchestras, music presenters, and education organizations in 40 states as well as internationally in 27 countries on 6 continents. WMI's hands-on programs tap into the creativity of audiences of all ages, inviting them to make their own music in all genres, express their viewpoints, and raise their voices. WMI shares an extensive range of online music education resources and program materials for free with teachers, families, orchestras, arts organizations, and music lovers worldwide. As a leader in music education, WMI generates new knowledge through original research, which inform Carnegie Hall's own programs and are also available as a resource to artists, organizations, and peers.

For more information, please visit: carnegiehall.org/education

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