Performing Families: An Evening of Music and Conversation
ON LINE SALES ARE CLOSED…TICKETS AVAILABLE BY PHONE 914.428.4220 UNTIL 5PM FRIDAY, APRIL 20…
TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR SATURDAY, APRIL 21
Celebrate the bonds of music with four family bands as they perform and discuss the meaning of kinship, music, and tradition. Featuring family ensembles: Mariachi Sol Mixteco, the LOFT’s Pride Chorus, Sruli & Lisa’s Family Klezmer Band, and mother-daughter South Indian Carnatic singing duo, Smt. Kiruba and Shaaranya Pillai. An audience talkback will follow the performance.
Sruli & Lisa’s Family Klezmer Band – Multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Sruli and Lisa play the clarinet, violin, accordion, bass recorder, cello and drum, and perform and teach Klezmer and Hasidic music and dance all over the country. They have performed live on Polish National Television and Radio, were the featured Klezmer performers on PBS-TV’s “Another Mitzvah,” performed the klezmer soundtrack for the Showtime Movie “The Devil’s Arithmetic,”and frequently perform live on National Public Radio. Sruli and Lisa played sold-out runs of both “A Klezmer’s Tale” and “Kids and Yiddish” at the Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre with Zalmen Mlotek which the New York Times called “Warm, tuneful and sprightly!”
The LOFT’s Pride Chorus—The LOFT’s LGBTQ Pride Chorus strives to reflect the diversity within LGBTQ communities. They blend voices representing all different sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, races, abilities and music/choral histories. Just like people, families come in all colors, shapes and sizes. There are some families who are not connected by biology but the bond between them is just as strong. The LOFT’s Pride Chorus is one of these families of choice who come together to sing and bring joy into their lives and their audiences…..one song at a time!
Mariachi Sol Mixteco — With its beginnings as a rural folk music from Western Mexico, Mariachi today is a transnational phenomenon that can be heard throughout Mexico and the Mexican diaspora. As a family ensemble based in Westchester, Mariachi Sol Mixteco strives to represent their Mexican roots and culture through performances in and around the county. The group is led by husband and wife Mariela and Jose Navarro who are joined by their two children.
Smt. Kiruba and Shaaranya Pillai— Shaaranya Pillai has been learning Carnatic South Indian classical voice since she was five years old. Born and raised in the U.S., she began her journey in Carnatic music with her mother, Smt. Kiruba Pillai, and continued learning from her current guru, Smt. Kiranavali Vidyasankar (based in Philadelphia) since 2006.
Smt. Kiruba Pillai, Shaaranya’s mother, is a virtuoso in Carnatic music. Gifted with a rich singing voice, she graduated with the Bachelor’s Degree in music from Annamalai University and has had extensive vocal training under the legendary maestro Dr. TV Gopalakrishnan in Chennai, India.
This program is part of ArtsWestchester’s Folk Arts Program, made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts.