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Cesar Castro next up on Performing Ethnomusicology Series

Submitted by Humanities Web Project on February 22, 2011 - 12:00am
Cesar Castro
Cesar Castro

Performer, luthier, and scholar Cesar Castro will lead a lecture and discussion on the art of son jarocho Friday, February 25 at the School of Music, the next event in the School's Performing Ethnomusicology Series.

A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Cesar Castro is a luthier and an adept musician in the tradition of son jarocho. A member of the famed group Mono Blanco, Castro has been an active participant in the nuevo movimiento jaranero, a movement to restore the practice of the participatory communal performance called fandango. A resident of Los Angeles, where he continues to perform and teach about the music, poetry, and dance of the fandango, Castro also hosts a radio show,Jarochelo, an important voice for the growing community of fandango practitioners on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Performing Ethnomusicology, a series of lectures, seminars, concerts and workshops running through Winter Quarter and organized by the school's Ethnomusicology division, focuses on musical traditions from around the world and is bringing to the University of Washington campus leading scholars and performers in those genres. Other upcoming guests include Turkish Ud player Munir Beken (March 4) and Senagalese percussionist Thione Diop (March 11).

All remaining events in the series are free and open to the public.

Performing Ethnomusicology Series Schedule

February 25: Cesar Castro
A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Cesar Castro is a luthier and an adept musician in the tradition of son jarocho. A member of the famed group Mono Blanco, Castro has been an active participant in the nuevo movimiento jaranero, a movement to restore the practice of the participatory communal performance called fandango. A resident of Los Angeles, where he continues to perform and teach about the music, poetry, and dance of the fandango, Castro also hosts a radio show,Jarochelo, an important voice for the growing community of fandango practitioners on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Members of the Seattle Fandango Project will accompany him in this performance, which integrates dance and music with spoken reflections on the community practice of the fandango and the art of son jarocho.

  • 12:30-1:20 p.m., Brechemin Auditorium: Lecture: "The Living Art of Son Jarocho"
  • 2:30-4:30 p.m., Music Room 27: Seminar: "Community Arts Activism"

March 4: Munir Beken
Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles, Munir Beken's career spans theory, composition, ethnomusicology, and performance. As a composer, he has written a state-commissioned ballet suite for orchestra, won awards for film music, and scored television documentaries both domestically and internationally. His scholarly work focuses on modal theory. He was one of the founding members of the State Turkish Music Ensemble. As a soloist on the ud, he has performed in venues across the U.S. and has recorded a solo CD with Rounder Records.

  • 12:30 p.m., Brechemin Auditorium: Lecture-Recital: Turkish Ud
  • 2:30-4:30 p.m., Fishbowl Conference Room: Seminar: "The Use of Ud in Contemporary Music"

March 11: Thione Diop and "Yeke Yeke"
Senegalese percussionist Thione Diop is a master of the djembe, sabar, tama (talking drum), and djun djun. Based in Seattle since 1999, he has toured internationally with musicians such as Poncho Sanchez, Alpha Blondy, Lucky Dube, and Max Romeo. He is the creator and producer of the annual Spirit of West Africa Festal at the Seattle Center, and Kasumai Africa at the Northshore Performing Arts Center in Bothell.

  • 12:30-1:20 p.m., Brechemin Auditorium: Concert of traditional West African music
  • 3:30-5:30 p.m., Music 313: Workshop
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