The Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Concert brings musicians from different cultures together at this moment to perform music in celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander heritage and support of solidarity to build bridges and unite people across borders.
The free concert will be streamed on the Arizona Arts YouTube channel at 4p on Saturday, May 15, featuring 25 international artists from China, Japan, Korea, India, Hawaii, Argentina, Greece, Mexico, and the Middle East.
(About the Artists below the graphic)
Speakers from …
Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona
Asian Pacific American Student Affairs
Pima County Public Library
National REACH Coalition
Co-presented by
Arizona Arts | Tucson Chinese Cultural Center | Applied Intercultural Research Program
About the Artists
Peiyou Chang has been playing the guqin for more than 20 years. She has participated in numerous guqin performances and activities, and given lectures about the guqin at many renowned universities. As the president of the New York Qin Society, Peiyou is devoted to Guqin music reconstruction, composition, promotion, and performance both solo and ensemble. www.peiyouqin.com
Renjie Song was born in Xi’an, China. He graduated from Nanjing Southeast University School of Medicine and its graduate school, then immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1980s, and now lives in New York State. He has loved Chinese traditional culture and art since young, so he taught himself the Xiao flute and Qin and practiced Tai Chi for many years.
Yves Seban lives in New York and is a semi-retired dilettante with a taste for music from all over the world. He has also performed major literary book public readings, such as James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. His podcast (in progress): https://soundcloud.com/yves-seban
Eun Sun Jung is a gayageum player and a multi award-winning performer. She actively engages in performing across countries and has performed at the J. F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She also has held a solo recital in New York City and performed at various venues in Manhattan.
Paul Amiel, a native of Los Angeles, is a composer and performer on a variety of instruments in several musical traditions. While living in Japan in 2008 he studied shakuhachi, the Japanese bamboo flute, under Iida Katsutoshi. In 2014 he started the Empty Bamboo Shakuhachi Practice Circle in Tucson, Arizona, to encourage meditative musical practice.
Shreyas Iyer has been learning the tabla since he was 7 years old. His innate passion and dedication to learning this complex art form have been furthered by the gurus he met. He has accompanied several local and international artists at venues that span Arizona and decided to spread his knowledge and passion for this instrument through classes and workshops. Facebook | Instagram
Nita Mallya is the Founder and Director of Sampradaya Dance of India. She is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer and a teacher. She has been teaching in Phoenix, AZ for over sixteen years and has performed widely in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Middle East and India.
Joshua Tan lives in Los Angeles and holds a DMA in piano performance from the University of Southern California; Kevin Cross lives in Tucson, AZ, and holds a DMA in percussion performance from the University of Arizona. The duo seeks to create music that resonates with listeners, composers, and performers alike: as a pleasing sound, emotionally, intellectually, socially, and historically.
Halau Hula O Ualani is a Polynesian group that has been studying and performing in Tucson since 1993. This diverse group of hula dancers, both wahine (women) and kane (men) have dedicated their lives to learning the hula. Some have been with the group since 1993, others join new every year.
HarpFusion ensemble has become one of the most creative and exciting ensembles on the international concert stage. The group is known for its performances of arrangements and original compositions by members who are all University of Arizona students. Named for its unique blend of many different styles and cultures, this highly innovative harp ensemble has earned international respect for its inspiring performances.
Maxi Larrea is a guitarist, arranger, composer, and music educator from Rosario, Argentina. He is a specialist in Argentine popular music. He has performed multiple times at the World Tango Championships in Buenos Aires. In 2015 he moved to the United States and recently relocated to Tucson, Arizona. www.maxilarrea.com
As an avid Argentine Tango dancer, Teresa Tam is beyond excited about her new voice and guitar duo with accomplished Argentine tango guitarist, arranger, and musical director Maxi Larrea. They are blending some of the most beautiful jazz and tango melodies with the harmonic complexity of these two rich genres to breathe new life into familiar songs. Website
Eleni-Persefoni Stavrianou is a versatile pianist from Greece, with a background in dance and the visual arts. Eleni is a doctoral candidate at The University of Arizona, studying piano performance with John Milbauer and playing for ballet classes under the tutelage of Suzanne Knosp. Eleni serves as the current president of the Collegiate Chapter of the Music Teachers National Association at The University of Arizona where she also teaches group piano.
Jared Baker received his BFA in Dance and was awarded the 2013 Creative Achievement Award in the University of Arizona. He was the winner of the 2012 International Choreography Competition at Jazz Dance World Congress. He has guest taught all over the country, including at the Millennium Dance Complex Chicago, Houston School of the Visual and Performing Arts, and The University of Arizona. He now resides in Milwaukee (WI) where he has established his own professional dance company, Nova Linea Contemporary Dance.
Carlos Zapién is a Tucson-based musician, singer, pianist, cultural manager, and composer. He was born in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. He studied piano and organ at the Conservatorio de Las Rosas in Morelia, Michoacán. In 2004 he obtained a degree in music from the University of Oregon, where he later obtained a master’s degree in 2006. He recently proposed a new interpretation of the Gregorian chant in an album titled The Beauty of Gregorian Chant.
Edwin Guevara-Gutierrez is a guitarist, composer, arranger, and director. He started at age three with his father at the National Conservatory of Colombia on guitar, composition, and direction. He won 67 awards and graduated from the Higher Conservatory of Music of the Liceo de Barcelona (Spain) with Guillem Pérez-Quer and magister in the symphonic direction from the National University of Colombia.
Misael Barraza-Diaz is one of the most outstanding Mexican guitarists of his generation. He graduated with a Master’s in Music degree from the University of Arizona in 2014 and has received some of the highest awards such as the Music Advisory Board Graduate Distinguished Student Award. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona.
Founded in 2016, Duo Chinoiserie is a world-culture-inspired ensemble composed of a traditional Chinese instrument and a western instrument. Its repertoire embraces traditions from cultures across Eurasia and displays the interactions and similarities as well as the uniqueness and exoticism of different musical cultures. The communication between east and west promotes an intercultural artistic exchange for a more inclusive world. Jing Xia is an award-winning guzheng performer. Her captivating performing style has gained international acclaim. Bin Hu received an award from the Northern Trust Bank to record his all-Bach album with Eudora Records in Spain. Website
Watch the Concert
