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Incomparable... the combined musical talent of this ensemble is beyond compare. In a single evening we experienced music inspired by America, Spain, Eastern Europe, Syria, Iran, China, Japan and more. Performers from many different backgrounds, playing instruments both familiar and strange, come together in a unique and unforgettable way. With up to 17 performers playing at once, a live show is the best way to enjoy their rich and complex sound.

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Silkroad Ensemble is not due to play near your location currently - but they are scheduled to play 4 concerts across 1 country in 2024-2025. View all concerts.

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Music / Concert Review: AMERICAN RAILROAD (Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens; U.S. Tour)

by William C. on November 14, 2023

in Concerts / Events , Music , Theater-Los Angeles , Theater-Regional , Tours

TUNNEL VISION

In this first program post-Yo-Yo Ma artistic directorship, the American Railroad national tour by Silkroad Ensemble presents an evening of newly composed and arranged music with a slew of fresh faces joining the illustrious ensemble. Under the direction of banjoist, fiddle player, vocalist and multi-Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens , the ensemble features a cast of multiethnic instrumentalists bringing with them unique sounds and performativity.

The context for American Railroad is recognition of the minorities who built the U.S.’s Transcontinental Railroad. The ensemble’s artistic statement states: “ American Railroad seeks to right past wrongs by highlighting untold stories and amplifying unheard voices from these communities, painting a more accurate picture of the global diasporic origin of the American Empire.” This new vision recognizing the contribution of immigrants, African Americans and indigenous people is at first glance a rather innovative way of approaching the ethos of the ensemble. Founded by Yo-Yo Ma to push the boundaries of music-making with a globalist vision, Giddens’ vision promised to be fresh and timely. In the time of racial justice and Black Lives Matter, critical issues explored through pluralistic music creation makes perfect sense.

I wish I can report that the ensemble has continued the tradition of exciting programming with thrilling performances in addition to honoring their new vision — but this is not that. Overall the programing was bland at best and the ensemble felt very disjointed. The expression range is limited and actually tied down under the established thesis. I question if the new direction may be more nativist and cloistered then fresh or “forward facing.” My overall knee-jerk response last Sunday November 12 at The Soraya was one of claustrophobia from a general stiffness in both presentation and performance. The entire concert misses the same kinetic connection, playfulness and joy that was the iconic trademark of the Silkroad Ensemble .

The opening number “Swannanoa Tunnel / Canoe Song” featured Pura Fé on conch, sharing vocals with Giddens. The duo didn’t have a comfortable groove together. In fact, the contrasting sense of rhythm left me rather uneasy. Fè went on improvising atop of a bed of pre-recorded voices that felt out of place. Partially due to bad mixing, the long and uninspiring opening did little to set the program’s beautiful intention, as the execution was clunky and felt amateurish.

“Far Down Far” is a two-part jig arranged by Silkroad member, Maeve Gilchrist , which had Giddens offering improvisational singing with her incredibly beautiful voice. Beginning with a drone on her fiddle, she was accompanied by Sandeep Das on the tabla. There was nothing technically wrong with the performances, but it was nothing worth talking about. Giddens is an amazing fiddler, yet not exciting to watch. And because she chose to remain seated, it felt like a wasted opportunity to get the audience really pumped by her showmanship.

Das launched into a tabla solo, “Rela,” that started with a rather steady pulse. Having seen his legendary performances multiple times, it was odd that something was held back. It could have been an off-night, but his polyrhythms were not as sharp or crisp as normal. There seemed to be a reliance on his well-established playing of the past; here, the solo felt safe.

Continuing the shapeless first half, we had “Wíhaŋblapi Mázačhaŋku” (“Railroad Dreams”), a new visual score by Oglala Lakota composer Kite (instead of lines and dots on a musical stave, visual scores use all sorts of different images and symbols to tell the performer what to play). It mystified me as to its inclusion, at least in before intermission when we are still getting on board with the program. What could have been an auditory feast sounded clunky and Dadaesque, meaning there seemed to be no logic, reason, and aestheticism to the work.

For her melancholic “Rainy Day,” Wu Man — always steadily musical and versatile — is game for anything being thrown at her. She was not only dependable but entertaining to watch as she thrashed on her pipa, a plucked Chinese instrument. Finishing the first act, guest artist Niwel Tsumbu , also helped to shape the ensemble in a joyful way with his “Milimo” (a Lingala word for “spirits”). The guitarist’s dexterity and tone were both superb and fun to hear. Mr. Tsumbu deserved a bigger role in the program.

In the second half, percussionist Haruka Fujii ’s arrangement of ‘Temping Song” was the only standout piece of the night. The arrangement, the melody of which is based on railroad worker’s song released on Columbia Records Japan in 1963, was filled with gripping string sounds and exciting grooves that helped to elevate the evening but for a moment. Kaoru Watanabe ’s powerful taiko solo, “ Fugaku Sanju Rokkei,” was incredible to watch. His years of deep connection to the wadaiko (Japanese drum) practice and tradition was deeply felt. His incredible dexterity and versatility continues to push this traditional performance art forward.

The concert could have done with some verbal communication from the musicians, adding a little context to the stories behind the pieces to aid in locating the work’s journey. Instead, the evening generally felt more like an aimless trek that was, frankly, a little cold and distant. The kind of personal approach that has always been a hallmark of Silkroad went missing.

The “Globalization” vision that came out of the early 2000s has become tiresome (and here, uninspiring). In this post-Trump era, this nativist vision feels a little too stiff and unthoughtful, like a Pavlovian response. Is it time to take a break and let a new identity emerge? That’s unlikely to happen soon, given that American Railroad is a multiyear initiative. I can’t wait for Silkroad to relaunch with more clarity of vision, intention and presentation. Because, ultimately, plurality of voices and expressions should not feel like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

photos of Silkroad Ensemble November 12, 2023 at The Soraya by Luis Luque, Luque Photography

American Railroad Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens reviewed on Sunday November 12, 2023 at The Soraya tour continues through November 18, 2023; for dates and cities, visit Silkroad a second tour is slated for fall 2024, with dates up and down the East Coast and in the Midwest

American Railroad artists:

Rhiannon Giddens, banjo/vocals Mazz Swift, violin/vocals Wu Man, pipa Sandeep Das, tabla Haruka Fujii, percussion Shawn Conley, bass Karen Ouzounian, cello/vocals Kaoru Watanabe, Japanese flutes/percussion Michi Wiancko, violin Francesco Turrisi*, frame drums/accordion Niwel Tsumbu*, guitar Pura Fé Crescioni*, lap-steel guitar/vocals Yazhi Guo*, suona *Guest artist Projections by Camilla Tassi

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Excellent review! We saw the show in San Diego and were very disappointed. No context for all the work and thought that went into this show (you had to read the program to understand and appreciate the history and meaning!).

The visuals on the large screen were perfunctory at best, and lazy and repetitive at worst. And with no interaction with the audience at all, this truly felt like the musicians on stage were rehearsing for themselves.

The ensemble needs to take a hard look at how the AUDIENCE is experiencing what is being presented (or not presented) on stage, and do some serious work to achieve what they want this piece to express.

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Boston’s silkroad ensemble announces tour .

The Silkroad Ensemble presents “ Phoenix Rising ” with their artistic director and GRAMMY-Award winning musician and vocalist Rhiannon Giddens , in a multi-city tour on the East coast of the U.S. from July 16–30, 2022.

Succeeding Yo-Yo Ma in the role, Giddens was appointed the ensemble’s artistic director in July 2020 and this season marks Silkroad Ensemble’s debut tour with her at the helm.

“Phoenix Rising” is a combination of past and new works — Silkroad members and Giddens will premiere works encapsulating their collective experience during the pandemic. 

These pieces include three new commissions by Silkroad artists Sandeep Das , Maeve Gilchrist , and Kaoru Watanabe . The program also involves new arrangements by Giddens, Colin Jacobsen , Edward Pérez , and Mazz Swift .

The ensemble will perform in New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Virginia, and Massachusetts. For more information and to attend the concerts, click here .

Silk Road Ensemble was founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998. The group name was inspired by and recognizes the historical Silk Road — an ancient trade route linking the West with the Middle East and Asia — as a model for cultural collaboration. 

Over the years, Yo-Yo Ma has brought together artists from regions once linked by the Silk Road and created a touring ensemble of top musicians from around the world; educational programs; and a social enterprise — bridging various cultures through the arts.

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Silkroad Ensemble Presents Tour Of PHOENIX RISING With Rhiannon Giddens

A musical rebirth and celebration, Phoenix Rising takes a cross-section of Silkroad's award-winning compositions and arrangements and re-imagines them for today.

Silkroad presents a multi-city tour of Phoenix Rising in July 2022 throughout the United States East coast, marking the ensemble's debut tour with Grammy Award-winning musician and vocalist Rhiannon Giddens since her appointment as Artistic Director in July 2020. A musical rebirth and celebration, Phoenix Rising takes a cross-section of Silkroad's award-winning compositions and arrangements and re-imagines them for today. Keeping an eye on the past, members of the Silkroad Ensemble and Giddens have also collaborated on new works that coalesce her unique worldview with the Ensemble's collective experience during the pandemic. As such, Phoenix Rising unveils three major new commissions by Silkroad artists Sandeep Das, Maeve Gilchrist, and Kaoru Watanabe. The program also includes new arrangements by Rhiannon Giddens , Colin Jacobsen, Edward Pérez, and Mazz Swift . Giddens and 13 Silkroad artists will visit venues in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia. A listing of dates for the upcoming tour follows, including links to each presenter's website for more information and ticket options.

Phoenix Rising: Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens July 16 @ Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, NY July 19 @ Hopkins Center for the Arts in Hanover, NH July 22 @ Newport Folk Festival in Newport, RI (sold out) July 23 @ New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ July 24 @ Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA July 27 @ Music Worcester at Indian Ranch in Webster, MA July 28 @ Tanglewood in Lenox, MA (sold out) July 30 @ The Skaneateles Festival in Skaneateles, NY

About Silkroad Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998, recognizing the historical Silk Road as a model for cultural collaboration-for the exchange of ideas, tradition, and innovation across borders. In a groundbreaking experiment, he brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road to co-create a musical language founded in difference, thus creating the foundation of Silkroad: both a touring ensemble comprised of world-class musicians from all over the globe and a social impact organization working to make a positive impact across borders through the arts. Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens , Silkroad leads social impact initiatives and educational programming alongside the creation of new music by the Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble. To learn more, please visit silkroad.org and @silkroadproject on social media. About Rhiannon Giddens Grammy Award-winning musician and vocalist Rhiannon Giddens has pursued a lifelong quest to shine light on under-recognized voices, genres, and musical traditions. A MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient, Giddens co-founded the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, and she has been nominated for six additional Grammys for her work as a soloist and collaborator. As a performer, composer, and cross-cultural connector, she has helped to change the understanding of both American and world music. Giddens has performed with the Silkroad Ensemble numerous times, but her appearances with them this season will be her first since succeeding Yo-Yo Ma as Artistic Director. Along with Silkroad's artists, Giddens has shaped a program that will serve to connect the ever-evolving organization and its Ensemble.

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Yo-yo ma’s silk road ensemble celebrates our differences through song.

“Sing Me Home” is a multicultural feast for the ears

Ryan P. Smith

Correspondent

Sing Me Home,  the latest album produced by Yo-Yo Ma’s  Silk Road Ensemble , is a veritable smorgasbord of sounds – a feast for the ears. The record, released in April, runs an unprecedented cultural gamut, drawing from a host of ethnic and regional traditions to create novel, multivalent melodies. On the album, reimagined American standards, including  “St. James Infirmary Blues,”  complement West African tribal music, and ethereal Chinese song is juxtaposed with frenetic Irish fiddling.

This profound diversity is characteristic not only of the album, but also of those responsible for its creation, artists who take great pride in their ability to find unity among their mutual differences, and to humbly open themselves up to cultures outside their own.

Indeed, despite the disparate composition of the Silk Road Ensemble, which  Yo-Yo Ma  founded in 1998 as a way to connect talented musicians from all walks of life, one finds in their work overwhelming kindred warmth, a sense of collaborative oneness.

As virtuoso violinist  Johnny Gandelsman , who co-produced  Sing Me Home , puts it, “We feel that we are a family, and when we get together, it’s like a great family reunion.”

Nowhere is this familial bond more evident than in this newest album; each member of the Ensemble shares aspects of their personal, ancestral histories, integrating these defining traits with those of their fellow musicians to create a vibrant and beautiful whole.

“There’s so much joy,” Gandelsman says. “And through joy, there’s a lot of respect for individual experience, individual stories.” He emphasizes the role of learning in the group’s creative process: “learning [what’s important] to individuals in the group… strengthens us as a collective.”

The best illustration of this jocund atmosphere is perhaps the Ensemble’s music video for “Heart and Soul,” premiering exclusively on Smithsonian.com, a classic American pop tune that the group reimagined for a 21st-century audience, and elected to use as the closing track on “Sing Me Home.”

Throughout the video, musicians and vocalists alike sport broad, sincere smiles, and sway breezily to the beat. As the two lead singers, guest performers Lisa Fischer and Gregory Porter ,  deliver their dulcet, romantic harmonies, they peer deeply into each other’s eyes. Core members of the ensemble are encouraged to invite their colleagues in their respective genres.

As Yo-Yo Ma, the visionary cellist at the heart of the ensemble, says via e-mail, “Part of what I love about this album is the way that, in a number of cases, collaborations are extensions of existing relationships.” Witness Martin Hayes, an Irish musician recruited by Silk Road veterans of the  string quartet Brooklyn Rider  to play on “O’Neill’s Cavalry March.” “They brought their beloved friend into our family,” Ma says.

Given the album’s lengthy list of contributors, what is perhaps most impressive about its production is the fact that each individual involved was encouraged at all stages of the process to voice suggestions and concerns. “The ensemble operates basically on democratic principles,” Johnny Gandelsman says.  “We take every opinion as very valuable.”

This notion of inclusivity extends beyond the group’s internal structure; a key facet of the Silk Road Ensemble’s mission is national and global outreach. The group is currently gearing up for a transcontinental summer tour of the United States, and is looking into the possibility of a Middle East engagement in the coming year. “There’s so much fear out there in the world,” Gandelsman says, “and we can address that through music.”

Yo-Yo Ma’s deepest hope is that the Silk Road Ensemble will inspire the creation of other, similar groups, each wholeheartedly committed to the celebration of world music. Eventually, far down the road, Ma’s original collective might gracefully fade away, no longer needed. That day – the day of the Silk Road Ensemble’s dissolution – will be, for its members, one of triumph.

In the meantime, the ensemble will continue to produce vital, compelling music, and to remind listeners everywhere that the beauty of human experience is shared among all of us, and is contributed to, uniquely, by each of us.

In the words of Yo-Yo Ma, speaking on the ensemble’s latest record, “We always focus on what unites rather than what divides, and I think that’s a lot of what you hear.”

Sing Me Home

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Ryan P. Smith | READ MORE

Ryan graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Science, Technology & Society and now writes for both Smithsonian Magazine and the World Bank's Connect4Climate division. He is also a published crossword constructor and a voracious consumer of movies and video games.

Silkroad Ensemble imagines the sound of a country under construction

With ‘american railroad,’ rhiannon giddens launches an ambitious multiyear project.

On Friday, Silkroad Ensemble released “ Phoenix Rising ,” a four-song EP recorded live at Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. The release offers not only an abridged document of the group’s 2022 tour of the same name, but also a proper reintroduction of Silkroad under its new artistic director, Rhiannon Giddens.

And on Sunday, Silkroad embarks on the next phase of its biggest project to date, launching its “ American Railroad: A Musical Journey of Reclamation ” tour with a concert at George Mason University.

Giddens, 46, is a celebrated banjoist, fiddle player and vocalist; a two-time Grammy winner; a MacArthur Fellow; and a founding member of groups including the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Gaelwynd and Our Native Daughters. In 2020, she was named the successor to Silkroad’s founding director, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who stepped down in 2017.

She’s a far different musician from Ma — steeped in country, blues and a spectrum of American folk traditions. And she’s as prolific a composer as a performer: Her opera “Omar,” about a West African Islamic scholar sold into slavery in South Carolina) runs Sunday through Nov. 21 at San Francisco Opera.

But she shares Ma’s vision of Silkroad as a model for cultural collaboration. “There is a communal energy that goes along with communal music and dance that we have totally, almost completely sucked out of our culture,” she says by phone from a hotel in New York City, where she was accepting her Pulitzer Prize for “Omar.”

These things take time, but Giddens’s musical impact is immediately detectable on “Phoenix Rising,” which opens with the North Carolina native’s own arrangement of the Appalachian folk song “ O, Death ,” here transformed into a restless invocation that unfolds atop a tangle of tablas, fiddles and flutes.

Evident in this unusual mix of instruments is the signature sound of Silkroad — a globally sourced and resolutely collaborative ensemble, dedicated to weaving the threads of various canons into new musical possibilities.

The “Phoenix” EP, for instance, includes two new commissions: one from Japanese flutist and percussionist Kaoru Watanabe ’s “ Ho-Oh ,” and a new arrangement of Rabindranath Tagore’s “Ekla Cholo Re” by tabla player Sandeep Das — works that should sound worlds apart, but don’t.

The EP closes with a transformed arrangement of Peter Gabriel’s 1980 anti-apartheid anthem “Biko” by Colin Jacobsen (of the Knights and Brooklyn Rider ). Gabriel’s original achieved an authoritative distance through its synthesized bagpipes, looping rhythmic throb and bookended samples of South African protest songs (“ Ngomhla sibuyayo ” and “ Senzeni Na ”). Silkroad’s take makes every texture tangible and immediate, the voices of Giddens and violinist Mazz Swift trading off within a swirl of textures — the pluck of Wu Man ’s pipa, the grain of Kojiro Umezaki ’s shakuhachi flute, the timbral chorus of Haruka Fujii ’s marimba, caxixi and djembe. The song expands beyond the prison cell of Steve Biko into a broader call for justice, and its everything-all-at-once vibe comes off less like flimsy fusion than a fleeting capture of global consensus.

By phone from her home in Northern California, Fujii, 48, describes her experience performing with Silkroad as a “life-changing” contrast to the more traditional chamber ensembles of the classical world.

“What music is for me has become a completely different shape,” she says of her 13-year tenure with the group. “It used to be something I wanted to express about myself or my appreciation of the music. With Silkroad, music has become a medium for me to be connected to people. It’s been a complete shift.”

It was in this spirit of crisscrossing connectivity that Giddens found the inspiration for “American Railroad,” a multiyear initiative that seeks to tell the stories of the immigrant laborers who constructed the transcontinental railroad — Indigenous and Black Americans and immigrants from Ireland, China, Japan and elsewhere. In painting “a more accurate picture of the global diasporic origin of the American Empire,” as the project website puts it, Giddens is also hoping to reveal why American music sounds the way it does, and give credit where credit’s due.

“The economic powerhouse that America became after the transcontinental was connected, it’s all on the back of the people who built it, the land it went through, the folks whose cultures were forever altered by this economic engine,” Giddens says. “What we’re trying to do is to remind people that not all progress is good — things are nuanced, things are ambiguous. Let’s acknowledge how it was built.”

In addition to the tour and a forthcoming album, “American Railroad” will include site-specific visual installations, residencies at universities, a documentary series, a children’s book and curricular materials for use by educators and the public. Over the past three years, participating Silkroad musicians have been gathering research and making visits to primary sites in the construction of the railroad: New York City, San Francisco, Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakotas. These visits culminated in a series of Train Station Trios, open musical workshops of ensembles assembled from various Silkroad members and local scholars.

“I had a couple of really strong notions and ideas and directions that I thought we should go in,” Giddens says of the project’s development. “But ultimately this is an ensemble, and it’s really all about the discovery of each individual musician and how they connect.”

The tour will include three new commissioned works by pipa player Wu Man, jazz artist Cécile McLorin Salvant and Native musician Suzanne Kite, as well as new arrangements by Fujii, Giddens and fellow Silkroad member Maeve Gilchrist. Fujii’s piece — “Tamping Song” — is partially based on the early 20th-century “hammer songs” sung by railroad workers in Japan and is Fujii’s tribute to the large number of Japanese immigrants who worked the lines, especially following the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 . Giddens offers an interpretation of another hammer song, “Swannanoa Tunnel,” its tune trailing through the show, tangled up in bluegrass and folk, but inextricably linked to Black railroad workers from her home state of North Carolina.

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The idea is to tell the story of one journey by way of another, to sharpen multiple histories by blurring the lines between them, and to construct a new model of exchange that, like the railroad, stands a chance of bringing people together. Just be prepared — the night will probably end, as Giddens prefers, with some sort of singalong.

“You don’t have to just be the audience,” she says. “You can also be the creators. You can be the artists, too. It has to start with us playing a tune, right?”

American Railroad: A Musical Journey of Reclamation , featuring the Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens, is at George Mason University on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. cfa.calendar.gmu.edu .

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Silkroad Ensemble's road leads to Indian Ranch with new leader and new compositions

Indian classical music tabla percussion player Sandeep Das didn't know Grammy Award-winning "Genius Grant" musician and vocalist Rhiannon Giddens when she was appointed the new artistic director of Silkroad Ensemble in 2020.

However, "I didn't know Yo-Yo Ma," Das recalled of the renowned cellist and founder of Silkroad Ensemble.

Das, who is also a composer and educator, came on board at the very beginning of the Silkroad Ensemble in 2000. It has drawn together performers and composers from more than 20 countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

What struck Das from the start in 2000 was that Ma is a "beautiful human being," he said.

Giddens has made the same impression. "It's been wonderful. A good human being first. She has a good heart, and everything else becomes easy."

Das is one of 13 Silkroad Ensemble artists Giddens is leading on its "Phoenix Rising" tour in July 2022 throughout the United States East coast.

Silkroad Ensemble will perform at Indian Ranch in Webster at 6 p.m. July 27 in a concert presented as part of the Summer@MW season by Music Worcester.

"Phoenix Rising" is the Ensemble’s debut tour with Giddens, and she is taking a cross-section of Silkroad’s award-winning compositions and arrangements and re-imagining them for today along with presenting three major new commissions by Silkroad artists.

One of these is by Das who has written his own musical adaptation of "Ekla Cholo Re” based on the famous poem by Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali polymath who became the first non-white, non-European and the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. The poem was a favorite of Mahatma Gandhi.

"This past year, India suffered losses on a massive scale never seen before," Das said of COVID's impact on the country. "Within a few weeks, I and many people I know were suddenly reeling from the unexpected losses of family, friends, loved ones, mentors and some of our country’s most treasured musicians and artists." 

He immediately thought of Tagore's poem when he was asked to write a new work for the Silkroad Ensemble. 

"Where I am in my life I've become fascinated, completely inspired by Yo-Yo Ma (and his connecting music with social initiatives). Playing music for music's sake is good, but  how can you spread the message? This famous poem is very relevant  for the times. 'Even if nobody believes in you, keep walking. Even if it means walking alone, people will follow you.' Every paragraph is so powerful and so meaningful," Das said.

"The refrain states, 'If no one heeds your call, then walk alone' … Music, I believe, is an instrument of healing — a means to create awareness, a conversation unbounded by language, and a spark that can lead to change on a global level."

Every word of "Ekla Cholo Re” will be sung in the original Bengali by Giddens.

"There are millions and millions of versions (translations). I spent time working with Rhiannon. She has done such a good job."

Das' wife, whom he described as keenly observant and a tough judge about the arts ("oh boy, she's going to tell me how I didn't play well"), has been impressed by Giddens' pronunciation, he said. Indeed, he would be happy if Giddens sung "Ekla Cholo Re” in Bengali in India.

Since his debut concert at the age of 17 with legendary Sitar player Ravi Shankar, Das has built a prolific international reputation spanning three decades. Born in Patna, Bihar, India, he has collaborated with top musicians, ensembles, and orchestras from all over the world, and his original compositions have been performed in 50+ countries. He has also been featured on many recordings. In the spirit of Silkroad's social awareness, Das is the founder of Harmony and Universality through Music (HUM), a nonprofit organization in India that has promoted global understanding through music performance and provided learning opportunities and scholarships for visually-impaired children with artistic potential since 2009. His most recent project, Transcending Borders One Note at a Time, launched in 2020 to widespread international acclaim, seeks to harness the power of music to create positive social change.

Das, who now lives in Newton, is no stranger to Worcester. Among its college residences, the Silk Road Ensemble has been a regular visitor to the College of the Holy Cross. But Das was coming to Holy Cross to give master classes, perform, and has played with his own ensemble even before joining Silkroad Ensemble 21 years ago, he said.

In a 2015 interview with the Telegram & Gazette he recalled that he took his driver's license exam in Worcester because the state Registry of Motor Vehicles had an open spot while Boston's was booked for months. "I passed in one go."

He was with Silkroad when it performed in Mechanics Hall in 2015. "What a beautiful auditorium," he said. 

Interviewed again by phone a few days ago he revealed a fondness for Worcester restaurants.

"I am not too far away. Worcester has some fantastic restaurants," he said.

Das has a pleasant and amusingly self-effacing way of talking, relating that when he saw Ma performing he was struck by "amazing playing" on "this big violin," only to be corrected and have it pointed out to him that Ma was playing a cello.

Still, Das has been known to say "no" about collaborating and it was no given that he would work with Ma and now Giddens. 

"I always see if I like the musician. Back in India I'd say no (if it) didn't feel like a good person."  

Giddens reached out to Silkroad Ensemble members online at first and acknowledged to Das that she did not know much about Indian classical music, he recalled. Das told her he didn't know too much about her music.

Giddens is a MacArthur Fellowship-winning songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist accomplished in several genres, including folk and  jazz.

In 2021, Music Worcester presented Giddens in a virtual concert streamed from her home in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi, but July 27 will be her in-person regional debut. 

"Phoenix Rising" will also feature new works by Silkroad Ensemble members Maeve Gilchrist (harp) and Kaoru Watanabe (shinobue — Japanese transverse flute), and new arrangements by Giddens, Colin Jacobsen, Edward Pérez, and Mazz Swift.

Ma had conceived of the idea of Silkroad as a model of cultural collaboration, making music and social and educational initiatives in 1998. The Sillkroad Ensemble, the musical component (originally styled as Silk Road Ensemble) was formed in 2000. It initially focused on instruments and traditions from along the historical Silk Road, but has reached out considerably further artistically.

Ma stepped back as artistic director 2017 but still has links with Silk Road. Co-artistic-directors held things together until Giddens' appointment.

Giddens led an online Silkroad Ensemble concert for Tanglewood in 2020 and last November made her live debut as artistic director at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge.

"I got to meet her personally. Her heart is in the right place. I'm looking forward to the tour," Das said.

He was being interviewed just before the "Phoenix Rising" tour was about to get underway with a performance July 16 at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, New York. Following its performance at Indian Ranch July 27, Silkroad Ensemble goes to Tanglewood July 28.

Das has also been performing recently as a duet with European classical music musicians on several European dates — and enjoying getting back to in-person live performances again since the pandemic lockdown receded.

"It's great. I've been traveling like crazy. We forget how much we need art and culture  in our lives," he said.

"More people are coming out to the auditoriums. It's the experience, just getting to the stadium is a different feel. For us, getting to see each other,  the communication, every neuron is firing on stage. And the audience, feeding off the energy of the fellow musicians and the audience. It's wonderful. Every musician, every combination." 

During the pandemic he stayed close to home in Newton, but organized an online benefit concert to raise $50,000 for COVID relief efforts in India. "A drop in the ocean," he said.

Das also continued to teach privately, and found himself contacted by music schools around the world to give online lessons, including by a school in Melbourne, Australia.  

Meanwhile, "I tried to be a good husband. Not to get kicked out of the house was the ultimate goal." He and his wife have been married 27 years.

While looking around the house he came across some early photographs of Silkroad Ensemble from about 21 years ago.

"I had lots more hair and black hair then," he said. "We were so much  younger."

But there's a saying in India that "music and musicians are like wine … they mellow," he noted.  

"I definitely feel we have mellowed as musicians. And human beings," Das said.

(Editor's Note: This story has been amended to correct the year Sandeep Das joined Silkroad Ensemble.)

"Phoenix Rising": Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens - Presented by Music Worcester

When: 6 p.m. July 27

Where: Indian Ranch Amphitheatre, 200 Gore Road, Webster

How much:  $30 to $55. www.indiianranch.com

• Peoplefinder
• George Mason University

Exploring the American Railroad with GRAMMY-winning Silkroad Ensemble

In this story, buy tickets, learn about mason artist-in-residence program.

In March 2023, the GRAMMY Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble debuted their program, Uplifted Voices , at the Center for the Arts, launching their three-year arc as a Mason Artist-in-Residence . Now, Silkroad Ensemble returns for its second year of residency with the world premiere of its program American Railroad on November 5. Various members of Silkroad Ensemble will engage the community through a variety of events, classes, and discussions, including semester-long participation in a fall 2023 Mason Honors College course, “The Silk Road and the Railroad: An artistic exploration of the Transcontinental Railroad in American history and culture.”

Taught by College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Rick Davis , this academic course will explore the many cultures, histories, music, and narratives of the Transcontinental Railroad, providing context to Silkroad Ensemble’s newest initiative to map American music through the various immigrant communities involved in building the late-1800s Transcontinental Railroad. To learn more about this class and its connection to Silkroad Ensemble’s upcoming November performance, the Center asked Dean Rick Davis to expand upon the course. 

What is the significance of Mason offering this semester-long academic course in conjunction with the Silkroad Ensemble’s culminating concert at the Center for the Arts?  

A key mission of the Center for the Arts is to bring the voice of professional artists into close contact with Mason students, both in the arts and beyond. It is particularly exciting when those students represent a wide range of interests. My current Honors College class comprises more than 15 different academic majors and a like number of minors, from Forensic Science to Engineering to Economics to Modern Languages. Everyone brings their own perspective to the subject, while engaging with the artists of Silkroad Ensemble in ways that demonstrate the universality and power of the arts to ask questions and tell stories that resonate across cultures and disciplines.  

In what ways is this new project from Silkroad Ensemble, American Railroad, relevant to modern audiences?  

I think it's a brilliant idea to bring the vast metaphor of the Silk Road, that connector of cultures and shaper of economies, closer to home by focusing on the Transcontinental Railroad (and, by extension, railroads more generally) as a transformative element in American history. The cultural connections and clashes that the railroad created (including indigenous and enslaved populations), the role of immigrants in its construction, the very idea that for the first time one could move people and goods quickly across this vast continent—all represent huge shifts in the way our country grew and thought about itself. That, in turn, created songs, stories, paintings, and photographs that still resonate today. The Silkroad Ensemble have studied this very deeply and are creating a variety of original responses. As a symbol of profound change, the railroad has few equals and we are always seeking to understand and live with change, today and every day. 

Get your tickets today and join Silkroad Ensemble on November 5 for its stunning world-premiere performance of American Railroad . 

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Mondavi Center Presents

Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens

American Railroad

Silkroad’s newest initiative,  American Railroad , illuminates the impact of African American, Chinese, Irish and Native American communities on the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad and America’s Westward Expansion.

The railroad was to North America what the Silk Road was to China, the Far East and Europe. These cultural intersections reveal a common thread despite their varied origins and remind us of the intricately rich American story.

The tour program includes three new commissions by jazz artist Cécile McLorin Salvant , native musician and visual artist Suzanne Kite , and Silkroad artist and renowned pipa player Wu Man , as well as re-envisioned arrangements by Rhiannon Giddens and fellow Silkroad artists Haruka Fujii and Maeve Gilchrist .

Founded by Yo-Yo Ma, and now under the leadership of Rhiannon Giddens, the 20+ member Silkroad Ensemble works to inspire collaboration in innovative ways that add more equity and justice into the world through the power of the arts.

VIEW THE PROGRAM AND LEARN MORE

Run Time: 1hr and 30min plus a 20min intermission.

The American Railroad project has been years in the making, and the program we’ve created for our first tour is only the beginning. In it, we shed light on those who have been erased or overlooked throughout American history and merge with it Silkroad’s unique ability to amplify voices from a multitude of backgrounds and cultures. The result is a tapestry of stories, traditions, and musics that have shaped our multifaceted cultural identity, and that must be heard and recognized. I hope audiences in the D.C. area and across California will leave these performances with a clearer sense of where we come from, how we got here, what is cost us – and that we collectively reflect on where we’re headed.

Rhiannon Giddens

Artist bios.

Banjo, Voice

Rhiannon Giddens has made a singular, iconic career out of stretching her brand of folk music, with its miles-deep historical roots and contemporary sensibilities, into just about every field imaginable. A two-time GRAMMY Award-winning singer and instrumentalist, MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, and composer of opera, ballet, and film, Giddens has centered her work around the mission of lifting up people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been overlooked or erased, and advocating for a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins through art.

As Pitchfork once said, “few artists are so fearless and so ravenous in their exploration”—a journey that has led to NPR naming her one of its 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century and to American Songwriter calling her “one of the most important musical minds currently walking the planet.” Her third solo studio album, You’re The One , released August 18 on Nonesuch Records.

Shawn Conley

Hawaiian born bassist and composer Shawn Conley grew up loving all types of music. This love of diversity of sound developed into a career that straddles many genres. He has been playing with the Silkroad Ensemble for six years and is a member of the Brooklyn-based chamber orchestra The Knights.

Recent projects include Silkroad’s Grammy Award-winning album Sing Me Home , an upcoming release of the Brahms and Beethoven violin concertos with Gil Shaham and The Knights, the world premiere tour of Osvaldo Golijov’s Falling Out of Time (commissioned by Silkroad), as well as an international tour of the new performance-art piece The Head and the Load created by South African visual artist William Kentridge. Shawn can also be heard on The Knights album Azul , featuring Silkroad founder Yo-Yo Ma.

As a studio musician, he has performed on multiple soundtracks including  True Grit ,  Moonrise Kingdom ,  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close ,  The Vietnam War documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, and the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel .

Shawn studied at Rice University with Paul Ellison and in Paris, France with Francois Rabbath. Shawn currently splits his time between Brooklyn, NY and Houston, TX with his wife Megan, and their son Osian.

Pura Fé Crescioni

Lap-Steel Guitar, Voice

Pura Fé (Tuscarora/Taino) is an Indigenous activist, singer-songwriter, and storyteller known for her distinct, soulful vocals and for breathing life into several musical genres. Her work as a musician has brought her around the world to do work at festivals, benefits, in classrooms, online, and in the studio. As a Native activist and cultural leader, she has done work to combat the erasure of native culture, restore traditions, build community, fight corporate takeover of native land, and give a voice to those facing social injustice.

As the founding member of the internationally renowned Native Women’s a cappella trio Ulali, Pura Fé helped to create a movement throughout Indian Country, which not only empowered Native Women’s hand drum and harmony, but also built a bridge for Native music into the mainstream music scene.  Ulali’s unique fusion of ancestral music, cultural roots, and message has left its mark. Ulali has recorded music for soundtracks, television commercials, has had platinum sales in Italy, and appeared at several events for the benefit of Indigenous Peoples and the environment.

Pura Fé’s solo career has produced six studio albums with her Native Blues and lap-steel slide guitar work. While touring Europe with Music Maker Blues Review under Dixie Frog and Nueva Onda French labels, she won Grand Prix du Disque from L’Académie Charls Cros (French Grammy) for Best World Album in 2006 for Tuscarora Nation Blues, and a Native American Music Award (NAMMY) for Best Female Artist for Follow Your Heart’s Desire in the same year.

Pura Fé and Ulali appeared in and consulted for the Rezolution Pictures Documentary RUMBLE: The Indians That Rocked The World, which won first place at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Pura Fé commented on her experience with the documentary, “This gave me a chance to reenact a piece of the historical birth of blues music that no one considers or hears about.”

Incumbent United States Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo once said, “We are systematically being written out of everything.” To have a platform to help bring awareness to the mainstream was crucial to Pura Fé and Ulali.

Born and raised in New York City, Pura Fé was classically trained in dance and vocals. As a child, show business paid for her education by way of Broadway plays, truck and bus tours, television commercials, and jingles. She was raised by her mother, Nanice Lund, who also sang professionally, performing for Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert Series. Pura Fé later went on to sing with the Mercer Ellington Orchestra.

Though she was a city kid, the influence of her grandparents’ mixed-race ancestry with at least eight generations of women singers, continues to be the doorway to her musical creativity. Pura Fé is the ninth generation of singers in her family, whom hail from the North Carolina Indigenous Tuscarora Deer Clan, who have black and Scotch-Irish ancestry as well. She later moved to North Carolina to connect with family from her maternal line and maintains ties with family and many Indigenous communities in the area. Her black ancestry stems from African banjo pickers from The Lee and Monk Plantations (from which world-renowned Jazz pianist Thelonius Monk descended) who married Tuscarora women during the Civil War.

Music is woven into the DNA on both sides of Pura Fé’s family. Although she did not grow up with him, her father, Juan Antonio Crescioni, was from Puerto Rico and grew up singing alongside his mother who played a cuatro, strumming out Jibaro music. Ancestry on Pura Fé’s paternal side is Taíno Indian of Puerto Rico, Corsican, and Spanish-Berber of the Canary Islands.

In her early teens, Pura Fé and her family became a part of the Urban Indian Scene through the American Indian Community House (AICH) based in NYC. AICH housed a collection of talented creators from Indigenous Nations all over North America. This is where she met what would later be the members of Ulali. With AICH, the group was able to take part in the beginnings of the United Nations Indigenous Permanent Forum. This brought the group around Indian Country, sharing their music and participating in Indigenous rights activism. Through the years, the group created a family network from all over Indian Country.

Today, Pura Fé lives in Canada and is writing a film for Rezolution Pictures. She is also working with First Nations dance and theater troops while recording a new album.

Haruka Fujii

Multi-percussionist Haruka Fujii has won international acclaim for her interpretation of contemporary music and commissioned and performed numerous premiere works from luminary living composers.

Ms. Fujii has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras including San Francisco Symphony, the Munich Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Nationale de Lyon and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. She also performs as a member of San Francisco Contemporary Players, the New York based Line C3 Percussion Group, and Utari Percussion Duo – a project with her sister Rika Fujii. Her recordings can be found on the SONY, Kosei, ALM Records and Deutsche Grammophon labels.

In addition to her career as a performing artist, Ms. Fujii recently joined the percussion faculty of San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has been a frequent guest instructor at Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar and several international percussion festivals.

Sandeep Das

A Guggenheim Fellow, Sandeep Das is one of the leading Tabla virtuosos in the world today. Since his debut concert at the age of 17 with legendary Sitar player Ravi Shankar, Das has built a prolific international reputation spanning over three decades. He has collaborated with top musicians, ensembles, and orchestras from all over the world, and his original compositions have been performed in 50+ countries.

Das is the founder of Harmony and Universality through Music (HUM), a nonprofit organization in India that has promoted global understanding through music performance and provided learning opportunities and scholarships for visually-impaired children with artistic potential since 2009.

His most recent project, Transcending Borders One Note at a Time , launched in 2020 to widespread international acclaim, and seeks to harness the power of music to create positive social change.

Karen Ouzounian

Described as “radiant” and “expressive” ( The New York Times ) and “nothing less than gorgeous” ( Memphis Commercial Appeal ), cellist and composer Karen Ouzounian approaches music-making with a deeply communicative and passionate spirit. Winner of the S&R Foundation’s Washington Award, she appears regularly with the Silkroad Ensemble and is a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Aizuri Quartet.

Recent projects include the creation of an experimental theater work with director Joanna Settle; the world premiere of Lembit Beecher’s cello concerto Tell Me Again with the Orlando Philharmonic; the world premiere of Anna Clyne’s Shorthand for solo cello and string quintet with The Knights; and the release of Kayhan Kalhor’s Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur for solo cello, kamancheh and tabla. Her evening-length video work In Motion , an exploration of heritage, family history and migration through interviews, her own compositions, and collaborations with visual artists, was presented by BroadBand in 2021.

Violin, Voice

Critically acclaimed as one of America’s most talented and versatile performers today, Violin/Vox/Freestyle Composition artist Mazz Swift has engaged audiences all over the world with the signature weaving of song, melody and improvisation that they call MazzMuse. As a singer, composer and Juilliard-trained violinist who plays electronic and acoustic instruments, Mazz has performed and recorded with a diverse accumulation of artists including The Silkroad Ensemble, William Parker, Butch Morris, Jason Lindner, James “Blood” Ulmer, Vernon Reid, Valerie June, Whitney Houston, DJ Logic, Kanye West, D’Angelo.

Mx. Swift is a 2021 United States Artist and 2019 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, currently working on a series of compositions that involve conducted improvisation, and that are centered around protest, spirituals, and the Ghanaian concept of ‘Sankofa’: looking back to learn how to move forward.

Niwel Tsumbu

Since moving to Ireland in 2004 from the Democratic Republic Of Congo Niwel settled with his wife and three children and quickly became a prominent face on the Irish music scene.

He has been hailed as ”an exceptional guitar player” by Europe’s leading online Jazz magazine All About Jazz and his music “enchanted” The Irish Times.

He has collaborated with many celebrated Irish musicians such as Sinéad O’Connor, Liam O’Maonlai, Donal Lunny, Glen Hansard, as well as international stars such as Ma Xiaohui (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon soundtrack), Senegalese legend Baaba Maal, Richard Bona and Nigel Kennedy amongst others.

With influences from far and wide, his elegant and fluent guitar playing draws from his past excursions with African rhythms, rumba, jazz, classical and much more besides.

After working with the Abbey Theatre and performing with a number of Opera productions Niwel is now focusing on his own music, working with his long time collaborator Eamonn Cagney on percussion.

His debut appearance with the Irish Memory Orchestra at London’s Cadogan Hall in 2018 was the latest in a line of collaborations Niwel has had with Dave Flynn including the supergroup DFF and a performance with the Crash Ensemble in Cork Opera House.

Francesco Turrisi

Frame Drums, Accordian

Grammy award winning multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi has been defined a “musical alchemist” and a “musical polyglot” by the press.

He left his native Italy to study jazz piano and early music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where he obtained a Bachelor and a Master’s degree.

He moved to Ireland in 2004, where he’s currently based and where he is active as a freelance musician.

He is equally at home playing with jazz veterans Dave Liebman and Bill Frisell as he is with Irish traditional sean-nós singer Roisin El Safty and with tarantella specialist Lucilla Galeazzi. Turrisi has toured with Bobby McFerrin, played baroque operas with ensemble L’Arpeggiata, toured with The Silk Road ensemble, interpreted the music of Steve Reich with Bang on a Can All Stars, accompanied flamenco star Pepe El Habichuela and Greek singer Savina Yannatou.

He has released five critically acclaimed albums as a leader and two as co-leader ( Tarab a cross boundary innovative ensemble that blends Irish and Mediterranean traditional music, and Zahr a project that looks at connections between southern Italian traditional music and Arabic music).

His latest piano solo album Northern Migrations was described as “delicate, wistful and wholly engrossing” by the Irish Times .

Since 2018 he collaborates with American grammy award winning singer and multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens, on a duo project that seamlessly combines music from the Mediterranean with music from the African diaspora in the Americas. In 2019 Giddens and Turrisi released their critically acclaimed duo album There is No Other . The album single I’m On My Way was nominated for a 2020 Grammy Award. Their 2021 second duo album They’re Calling Me Home was nominated for two Grammy awards and won as best folk album at the 2022 Grammy awards.

His long list of collaborations include:

Bobby McFerrin, Dave Liebman, Gianluigi Trovesi, Bill Frisell, Rhiannon Giddens, The Silk Road Ensemble, Nils Landgren, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Gavin Bryars, Gabriele Mirabassi, Rolando Villazon, Lisa Hannigan, Savina Yannatou, Maria Pia de Vito, Theodosii Spassov, The King’s Singers, Veronique Gens, Philippe Jaroussky, Pepe el Habichuela, Lucilla Galeazzi.

Kaoru Watanabe

Acclaimed composer and instrumentalist Kaoru Watanabe’s melodic, authentic and engaging music focuses on points of connection: the joints between Western jazz and Japanese theater and folk traditions and political action, the ancient and the all-too-contemporary.

Born into a musical family, Watanabe began his training at a young age, eventually graduating from the Manhattan School of Music, then devoting a decade overseas performing with and ultimately leading the world-renowned Taiko drum performance group Kodo.

His ten years in Japan profoundly influenced Watanabe’s practice. His signature skill of infusing Japanese culture to disparate styles has made him a much-in-demand collaborator, having worked with Wes Anderson, Yo-Yo Ma, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Laurie Anderson, Jason, and Alicia Hall Moran, Bando Tamasaburo, Eva Yerbabuena, and Zakir Hussain, among many others. Whether writing for solo performances, interdisciplinary ensembles, film, or symphony orchestras, he regularly explores social justice, history, and heritage issues.

Michi Wiancko

Michi Wiancko is a violinist and composer whose creative work encompasses a wide spectrum of new composition, collaboration, and interpretation. Her current and upcoming commissions include a new opera called Arkana Aquarium produced by Experiments in Opera, new works for Boston Chamber Music Society, NOW Ensemble, Jupiter String Quartet, Cavani String Quartet, Anne Akiko Meyers, Jason Vieaux, Andrew Yee, Alexi Kenney, and Mark Fewer.

Highlights from past commissioning projects include works for the The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Bern with Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Anna Prohaska, Liquid Music, Aizuri Quartet, Enso Quartet, Sybarite5, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Metropolis Ensemble and Ecstatic Music Festival. She also composes music for short and feature-length films, commercials, and for her own band, Kono Michi.

After receiving the 2018 Opera America Commissioning Grant for Female Composers, Michi Wiancko’s first opera, Murasaki’s Moon , was premiered to critical acclaim (and to more than 15,000 livestream views) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in May 2019. This work was created in collaboration with librettist Deborah Brevoort and director Eric Einhorn, and co-commissioned by Met Live Arts, OnSite Opera, and American Lyric Theater.

A passionate interpreter of contemporary music, Michi has been fortunate enough to work closely with a wide array of her favorite living composers including Gabriela Lena Frank, Missy Mazzoli, Vijay Iyer, Judd Greenstein, David T. Little, PaviElle French, Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, William Brittelle, Paula Matthusen, Mark Dancigers, Jessie Montgomery, and Christopher Adler. She has also arranged for and performed with countless non-classical artists, most notably Emily Wells, Jen Wasner and Wye Oak, PaviElle French, and El Vy with Matt Berninger from The National. Michi has toured with International Contemporary Ensemble, The Knights, A Far Cry, Alarm Will Sound, Mark Morris Dance Group, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Musicians from Marlboro, and many others.

Michi gave her violin solo debuts with the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and performed her recital debut in Weill Hall. In September of 2020, she released an album of newly-commissioned works for electro-acoustic solo violin on New Amsterdam Records. Michi recorded the complete solo violin works of Émile Sauret for Naxos Records, and appears on two albums released by Nonesuch Records: a string quartet composed by Laurie Anderson, and Pulse by Steve Reich with the International Contemporary Ensemble (which they performed in Carnegie Hall as part of Steve Reich’s 80th birthday celebration in 2016). Her mentors include Donald Weilerstein and the late violinist and composer Robert Mann, with whom she studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Juilliard, respectively.

In addition to her composition and performing career, Michi is director and curator of Antenna Cloud Farm, a music festival, arts retreat, and community organization based in western Massachusetts that has been on the Boston Globe’s Top 10 Must-See summer list two years in a row. She also teaches a course on 21st century musicianship and creativity at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Recognized as the world’s premier pipa virtuoso, Wu Man is a soloist, educator, and composer who gives her lute-like instrument—which has a history of more than 2,000 years in China—a new role in both traditional and contemporary music. She has premiered hundreds of new works for the pipa, while spearheading multimedia projects to both preserve and create global awareness of China’s ancient musical traditions.

Projects she has initiated have resulted in the pipa finding a place in new solo and quartet works, concertos, opera, chamber, electronic, and jazz music as well as in theater productions, film, dance, and collaborations with visual artists. She has performed in recital and with major orchestras around the world, is a frequent collaborator with ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet and The Knights, and is a founding member of the Silkroad Ensemble and a Master Musician for the Aga Khan Music Foundation. She has appeared in more than 40 recordings throughout her career, including the Silkroad Ensemble’s Grammy Award-winning recording Sing Me Home , featuring her composition “Green (Vincent’s Tune).” She is also a featured artist in the 2015 documentary The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble .

Born in Hangzhou, China, Wu Man studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she became the first recipient of a master’s degree in pipa. She moved to the U.S. in 1990 and was awarded the Bunting Fellowship at Harvard University in 1998. She was the first Chinese traditional musician to receive the United States Artist Fellowship (2008) and the first artist from China to perform at the White House. In 2013, she was named Musical America ’s Instrumentalist of the Year and in 2021 she received an honorary Doctorate of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music. She is a Visiting Professor at her alma mater the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and a Distinguished Professor at the Zhejiang and the Xi’an Conservatories.

Suona, Chinese Percussion

Co-founder and founding President of the American Academy of World Music, performer, educator, and musical instrument reformer, active on the international stage. He is good at playing suona and a variety of Chinese and Western wind instruments. He is recognized by the industry as one of the best suona performers in the world, and he is committed to integrating Chinese music with world music.

Graduated from the Traditional Music Department of the Central Conservatory of Music in 1990, and stayed on to teach at the school; in 2000, he became the principal of suona of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO); in 2012 he went to the United States to study, and also gave lectures and held lectures at Harvard University, Philadelphia University of the Arts and Berklee College of Music concert. He won the Pro Music is International Award in New York in 1998 and the Hong Kong Artist of the Year Award in 2013. In 2015, he obtained the Artist Diploma of Berklee College of Music, and He has led the Berklee College of Music Band to visit China and Singapore many times..

He has recorded more than a dozen of solo albums, many of which were released globally. The Suona active core developed by him won the second prize of Science and Technology Progress Award of the Ministry of Culture in 1993; he also developed Polyphonic Hulusi and and Guzheng transposition double-slot bridge, which has attracted much attention in the industry. In 2021, Co-founded the American Academy of World Music and the Two Tune World Music Ensemble in Henderson House.

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Embark on a Musical Journey: Silk Road Ensemble Tour Dates for 2024 by Minzifa Travel

Experiencing the Silk Road Ensemble Tour Dates 2024: A Harmonious Adventure

Unveiling silk road ensemble tour dates for 2024.

Are you captivated by the magical blend of cultures and music along the historic Silk Road? Minzifa Travel invites you to immerse yourself in the enchanting world of the Silk Road Ensemble. In this article, we unveil the eagerly awaited Silk Road Ensemble tour dates for 2024 . Join us as we embark on a harmonious adventure that bridges continents and time.

Unforgettable Musical Experiences: Silk Road Ensemble Tour Dates

1. melodies of unity: fusion of cultures.

The Silk Road Ensemble brings together musicians from diverse backgrounds, creating a harmonious tapestry of sound that reflects the cultural exchange along the trade route. Minzifa Travel proudly presents the Silk Road Ensemble tour dates for 2024, offering you a chance to experience this musical journey firsthand.

Dates and Destinations: Silk Road Ensemble 2024 Tour

2. mark your calendar: upcoming performances.

The Silk Road Ensemble’s 2024 tour promises captivating performances in various cities along the route. Minzifa Travel provides a detailed list of tour dates and destinations, enabling you to plan your journey around these enchanting musical experiences.

A Journey of Discovery: Immerse Yourself in Music and Culture

3. cultural fusion: musical exploration.

The Silk Road Ensemble’s music encapsulates the essence of the historic trade route, celebrating the beauty of cross-cultural connections. Minzifa Travel’s article not only highlights tour dates but also delves into the unique musical and cultural experiences you can anticipate during these performances.

Why Choose Minzifa Travel for Your Silk Road Ensemble Experience?

Expert curation and insights, 1. rich heritage of silk road exploration.

With decades of experience in Silk Road travel, Minzifa Travel possesses a deep understanding of the route’s cultural significance, enriching your Silk Road Ensemble experience with expert insights.

Seamless Musical Journeys

2.travel and musical adventures combined.

Minzifa Travel’s seamless integration of travel and musical experiences ensures that you enjoy not only the performances but also the cultural immersion along the Silk Road.

Unforgettable Memories

3. creating lasting impressions.

Minzifa Travel aims to create memories that resonate. Our commitment to excellence ensures that your Silk Road Ensemble experience is nothing short of unforgettable.

Harmonize Your Senses in 2024

Minzifa Travel invites you to join us on a harmonious journey along the Silk Road Ensemble’s tour dates for 2024. Immerse yourself in the melodies that echo the historic trade route’s rich cultural exchange. Explore our detailed tour dates and embark on a musical adventure that transcends borders and time. Let Minzifa Travel be your guide to experiencing the Silk Road through the captivating language of music.

Zil Cultural Center

• Avtozavodskaya • 10 min walk

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• Gorky Central Park of Culture and Recreation, Moscow
• Guide to Russia

What is the history of Gorky Park?

• In the pre-revolutionary period, Gorky Park was a city dump and wasteland, which was cleared in 1923 to host the All-Russian Agricultural and Artisan Industrial Exhibition
• In 1928, a huge park was planned on the former site of the exhibition. It would not just be a place of leisure, but a place to proudly display Soviet culture and daily life
• Gorky Park has remained a cultural hub ever since, and has been renovated and added to over the years to make it one of Moscow’s top attractions today

Gorky Central Park of Culture and Recreation

Gorky Park is the most famous park of Moscow, created during the Soviet period as a hub for relaxation and cultural activities. The park is beloved by Muscovites and tourists alike, who visit in all seasons to stroll, enjoy sports, admire the park’s attractions, and attend cultural events. Gorky Park is the central part of an ensemble of four green spaces – Muzeon Park of Arts, Neskuchny Garden, and Sparrow Hills Nature Reserve – which curve around the southern bank of the Moskva River to the south-west of Moscow city centre. Here you may spend some time and enjoy nature and contemprary art during your vacation in Moscow .

History of Gorky Park

Imperial russia.

In the 17th century, the eastern bank of the Moskva River beyond Moscow’s city limits was home to floodplain meadows, where palace horses grazed. From the mid-1850s, events such as cockfights, fistfights, and races were held here, and by the 20th century this area had become a city dump where the unemployed and homeless people of Moscow lived, which remained this way until the Soviet period. This wasteland lay in stark contrast to the adjoining Neskuchny Sad – ‘merry garden’ – which lay to its south, an area of aristocratic country estates and elaborate gardens.

Soviet Russia

Photo from  https://parkseason.ru/

Following the October Revolution, Vladimir Lenin travelled around Moscow to find a suitable site for the first All-Russian Agricultural and Artisan Industrial Exhibition, which would reveal opportunities for socialist development of agriculture and industry. Lenin decided on the wasteland alongside the Moskva River, which was cleared with a programme of community work. In 1923, the exhibition began. It encompassed 250 pavilions dedicated to different themes of agriculture and industry, and was divided into thematic zones, such as villages, livestock, crops, engineering, railways, republics of the USSR, and foreign countries. The organisation of the exhibition demarcated the future layout and size of Gorky Park, and the paths, ‘zones’, and main square of the exhibition have been preserved until the present day. In March 1928, Moscow City Council decided to establish a park of culture and recreation on the site of the former exhibition, which would also encompass the Neskuchny Garden. Moscow’s residents were instrumental in the construction of the park – they voiced their desires for events spaces, physical education and leisure facilities, and gave up their weekends to build the park. The park’s main architect was Konstantin Melnikov.

Did you know? Konstantin Melnikov also helped to construct Lenin’s Mausoleum and the Rusakov Worker’s Club, one of Moscow’s Constructivist masterpieces .

Over 100,000 Muscovites flocked to the opening of the park on 12th August 1928. The brand-new park was equipped with two theatres, a cinema, nursery, reading room, restaurant and café, music stages, sports arenas, rowing boats, and even a giant helter-skelter slide. Unfortunately, because of the vast size of the crowd and the general excitement, the park was damaged and closed until September.

Did you know? The park was not named after Maxim Gorky, writer and founder of Socialist Realism, until 1933.

In 1929, Betty Glan – at the mere age of 26 – became director of the park. She decided to reconceptualise it, uniting leisure, design, and ideology with the help of Moscow’s most eminent architects, designers and artists. Over the next decade, more cultural venues were established in the park, the Pushkinskaya Embankment along the Moskva River was developed, and the landscaping of the park was carefully cultivated. Architect Alexander Vlasov was particularly influential, and won the Grand Prix at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris for his design of Gorky Park. This period under Glan’s directorship until 1937 was known as the ‘golden age’ of Gorky Park, which became not just a place for recreation, but a public space where Soviet culture and everyday life could be proudly displayed.

Did you know? During the Second World War topical events were held in Gorky Park, such as the championship in bayonet combat, grenade-throwing competitions, and air defence training. What’s more, an exhibition of captured enemy weapons – tanks, artillery, aeroplanes, and more – was organised in Gorky Park and continually updated throughout the war.

In the post-war decades new attractions were continually added to Gorky Park. These included the majestic 24-metre triumphal arch at the entrance to the park, an astronomical observatory (which remains open today), the famous Ferris wheel (unfortunately dismantled in 2008), and a fountain with lights and music.

Russia today

Photo from  https://countryscanner.ru/

The Gorky Park ensemble continued to flourish as a centre of culture and recreation in post-Soviet Russia. The adjoining Muzeon Park of Arts was founded in 1992, and Garage Museum of Contemporary Art was established in Gorky Park in 2008. The ensemble underwent serious reconstruction in 2011. Many new sports facilities were added, including centres for beach sports and extreme sports, bicycle paths and sports equipment rental hubs, and much effort was devoted to reviving original buildings, sculptures, and landscape compositions. Two years later, the embankment of the Moskva River from the southern tip of Zamoskvorechye Island all the way to Sparrow Hills was redeveloped and pedestrianised, making it possible to peacefully walk or cycle along the Moskva for many kilometres.

What can you do at Gorky Park today?

• Explore the park and see architectural attractions, fountains, and beautiful gardens
• Visit Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and the Gorky Park Museum
• Go boating on the lakes and stroll down the Pushkinskaya Embankment
• Rent bicycles or scooters, skateboard, and visit the sports centres

What can you do at Gorky Park?

Park attractions.

While exploring the treelined paths of Gorky Park, you’ll come across a number of attractions. To the west of the main entrance, near the river, is a beautiful geometric bandstand used for music and literary evenings in the Soviet period. As you head down the central alley of Gorky Park from the main entrance, you’ll see a statue of Maxim Gorky on your right, and discover the light and music fountain with its dancing jets of water – find the schedule of its performances here .

Did you know? Don’t be afraid to feed the red squirrels and birds you encounter on your walk around Gorky Park – there are even vending machines which sell special food for the animals!

The southern section of Gorky Park is occupied by the Golitsynsky Garden. In 1802, the Golitsyn Hospital was founded here as a hospital for the poor; it still adjoins Gorky Park today. Gardens were created as a relaxation place for patients, extending from the hospital building to the riverbank, and included landscaped gardens, a Chinese Bridge, and two ponds. On the riverbank is the Rotunda of the Golitsyn Hospital, which has been preserved since the 19th century. There is also a rose garden and fountain by the Bolshoi Golitsynsky Pond.

Did you know? In the Golitsynsky Garden is also located an unusual architectural monument – a public toilet designed by Alexander Vlasov in the 1930s, which is recognised as an ‘object of cultural heritage’!

Outdoor activities

Gorky Park’s extensive and varied grounds aren’t only good for walks! You can relax on the water by renting boats to sail on the Pionersky and Bolshoi Golitsynsky Ponds, or visiting the Olivkovy Beach on the Pushkinskaya Embankment to sunbathe. As well as this, you can hire bicycles, electric scooters, longboards or even roller skates to explore the park and embankments, play table tennis, visit the sports complex to play football, basketball, handball, badminton or volleyball, or visit the Vans skatepark or Nike sports centre for workouts and classes such as rooftop yoga.

Gorky Park Museum

Photo from  http://themedium.ru/

Visit the Gorky Park Museum, located in the left pier of the entrance arch. The current exhibition is dedicated to Gorky Park in the ‘golden age’ of the 1930s, and shows the development of Moscow’s central park through the eyes of Betty Glan. There is an observation deck on top of the arch, which offers a lovely view over the park and Moscow’s skyline.

Did you know? In the entrance arch there is also a gift shop where you can purchase balls, frisbees, blankets, and other items to enjoy your visit to Gorky Park.

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art

Photo from  https://muzeolog.com/

In Gorky Park you will find Garage Museum, Russia’s first philanthropic institution dedicated to contemporary art, founded in 2008 by Roman Abramovich and Dasha Zhukova. 10 major exhibitions are hosted each year to showcase the work of established and up-and-coming artists. Also organised are a rich programme of events including curator-led excursions, workshops, masterclasses, lectures, concerts, performances, festivals, and film screenings at Garage’s outdoor cinema. Read our article about Garage Museum of Contemporary Art to learn more.

Food and drink

There are plenty of excellent cafes and restaurants dotted around Gorky Park, where you can stop for a quick coffee or enjoy a long meal with a view. They include the stylish lakeside café Ostrovok (Little Island) and upmarket restaurant Vremena Goda (Seasons) which serve European and Russian food, colourful lakeside Thai restaurant Lebedinoe Ozero (Swan Lake), trattoria Merkato with its huge summer terrace, restaurant Syrovarnya (Cheese Factory) with a menu focused on its homemade cheese, food-truck court Restoparking which is stylised as a drive-in café, and ice-cream and tea shop Chaynaya Vysota.

What’s nearby?

Gorky Park is bordered by Muzeon Park of Arts, Neskuchny Garden, and Sparrow Hills Nature Reserve. This huge ensemble curves for eight kilometres along the bank of the Moskva River, providing a beautiful oasis of green in Europe’s biggest city.

Muzeon Park of Arts

Photo from  https://new-magazine.ru/

Muzeon Park of Arts is the largest open-air sculpture museum in Russia, home to 1,000 sculptures by Soviet and Russian sculptors, including those by famous artists. A large part of Muzeon is occupied by the New Tretyakov Gallery , which houses Russia’s most complete exhibition of national art from the 20th century to the present day. The pedestrianised Krymskaya Embankment which extends alongside Muzeon has recently undergone redevelopment, and is one of Moscow’s most popular spots to relax.

Neskuchny Garden

Neskuchny Garden is the oldest park in Moscow, founded in 1728 by Prince Nikita Trubetskoy, who threw fantastic festivities in his manor house and gardens – neskuchny means ‘merry’ in Russian. Many other noble families also built their country estates in this area, which became a public park and garden after being acquired by the royal family. Today, the Neskuchny Garden is home to historical buildings, fountains, and gardens from the 18th and 19th centuries, sports facilities, an open-air theatre, and a huge greenhouse which supplies flowers to Gorky Park.

Sparrow Hills

Sparrow Hills Nature Reserve is a huge forest park lining the steep bank of the Moskva River and the only specially protected nature area near the city centre. It is home to ecological trails, ponds, natural springs, rare species of plants and animals, many spots for picnicking, cafes, and a mini zoo. At the bottom of the park lie the Vorobyovskaya and Andreevskaya Embankments, with promenades along the Moskva River, a beach, and piers offering boat trips. As with Gorky Park, Sparrow Hills is hugely popular for sports and outdoor activities in all seasons. A new winter sports complex with snowboarding, ice skating, and ski tracks and jumps is currently under construction. When the weather is pleasant, you can rent a bicycle to ride the 8 kilometres along the river from Muzeon to Sparrow Hills.

Essential information for visitors Address and contact details Gorky Park, Krymsky Val, 9, Moscow, 119049 Website:  https://park-gorkogo.com/ Email:  [email protected] Telephone: +7 (495) 995-00-20 Nearest metro: Oktyabrskaya (570m), Park Kultury (860m) Opening hours and tickets

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