On Monday, March 23, 2023, at 6:30pm, join the Spring 2023 CLACS Colloquium for an event exploring the links between Havana and New Orleans. Havánanola features performances by David Virelles, a NYC-based pianist composer from Santiago de Cuba. Virelles will be in dialogue with Matt Sakakeeny, an anthropologist of music living in New Orleans and teaching at Tulane University. Please note that this event will take place in the Silver Center, Room 220 (32 Waverly Place). This event is open to the public with RSVP.
During the day on March 27, 2023 at 2:00pm, join us for a talk by Matt Sakakeeny entitled "Retention and Reinvention: The Changing Same of African Rhythms in New Orleans Music."
Please RSVP for all events via Eventbrite: nyuvaiven.eventbrite.com
About the Presenters
New York based pianist-composer David Virelles grew up in a musical family in Santiago de Cuba, steeped in the music of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora and Western classical music. While he views his work as “a hundred percent traditional,” drawing from multiple traditions, in practice, he is creating a syncretic new personal music, rather than a mixture of elements or a recreation. David’s 2012 album Continuum ended up on many “Best Of The Year” lists. He released three projects on the legendary label ECM to critical acclaim, documenting a wide artistic range – Mbóko, Antenna, and Gnosis. His release Igbó Alákọrin (The Singer's Grove) Vol I & II is a celebration of the musical history of Santiago de Cuba and was recorded at the Siboney E.G.R.E.M. studios in this southeastern Cuban town. It was named Best Latin Jazz album by NPR in 2017. Virelles latest album NUNA (El Tivoli Music/ Pi Recordings), an exploration of the solo piano setting, was named one of the best albums of 2022 by The New York Times and NPR.
Matt Sakakeeny is an anthropologist of music living in New Orleans and teaching at Tulane University. His work relates music and sound to structures of inequality, especially anti-Black racism in New Orleans. In his book, Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans, he follows brass band musicians as they march off the streets and into nightclubs, festival grounds, and recording studios. Most recently, he received a grant from the Spencer Foundation for his next book on marching band education in the New Orleans school system.
About the Colloquium
Organized by faculty members Sybil Cooksey and Yunior Terry, the colloquium "Música de Vaivén: The Habanera Diaspora" pairs a graduate seminar with a public event series. Learn more.
Supporters
The Spring 2023 colloquium is organized by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and the Department of Music.
Additional sessions are made possible with support from the Center for Faculty Advancement, Gallatin Amplified Voices Series, Center for the Study of Africa and the African Diaspora, La Maison Française, and Haitian Creole Language Institute of New York.
