Music Beyond Borders brings the world to Morristown Green

Despite hot and humid weather, threatening skies and fenced-off shady areas, over 1,700 people spent their lunchtimes on Morristown’s Green enjoying music and dance from the Middle East, the Caribbean, Ukraine and Korea.    

For the 6^th consecutive year, Morris Arts continued its collaboration with the Mayo Performing Arts Center, programming four free, outdoor, world-music concerts during June, July and August 2015. All concerts ran from 12:30-1:30pm on the Morristown Green. (Rainsite: Morristown United Methodist Church on the Green, 50 Park Place).  This year’s schedule included:

JUNE 23: The Secret Trio: Middle Eastern, Turkish, Armenian, Macedonian music Three astounding musicians, Ara Dinkjian (oud), Ismail Lumanovski (clarinet) and Tamer Pinarbasi (kanun) fuse modes and improvisations from the Middle East, Balkan dance beats and their own roots in Turkish, Armenian and Macedonian Roma traditions. Award-winning as soloists as well as chamber musicians, Ismail, Ara and Tamer have performed internationally at such leading venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Kennedy Center, as well as in venues throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

Despite threatening weather, over 375 people attended the exquisite performance by The Secret Trio. Ara Dinkjian, master of the oud (an ancestor of the lute and guitar) provided fascinating background information about the various musical traditions and the instruments. Here are some videos and photos from the intriguing and virtuosic performance by Ismail Lumanovski on clarinet, Ara Dinkjian on oud and Tamer Pinarbasi on kanun.

VIDEOS:

Enjoy hearing the close ensemble work and musical “conversation” between kanun and clarinet HERE and to sample some of the unusual assymetrical meters, virtuoso clarinet playing and exceptional unison playing, click HERE.

Click HERE to see intricate finger work on the kanun and HERE for more of the unusual irregular meters of this music.

For a little taste of The Secret Trio’s version of gypsy soul  featured in Brahms’ iconic Hungarian Rhapsody #5, click HERE

 

PHOTOS:

 

 

 

 

JULY 7: Caribbean Music with the Conroy Warren Duo – This talented duo from Antigua has performed extensively throughout the Caribbean, the United States, Europe and Africa and features Patrick Gomes (steel pan) and Conroy Warren (guitar and vocals). Their unique “Music Pepper Pot,” features the rich sounds of calypso, reggae, samba, merengue and R&B. Get ready to limbo…the conga line forms on the right!

Over 500 people of all ages came out to enjoy some Caribbean music (and weather) on July 7th.

VIDEOS: The music got people dancing the Cha Cha (to “Guantanamera”) HERE and to “Hot Hot Hot” HERE….

Patrick Gomes’s jazz improvisations were soaring in his version of “Sonny” HERE and everyone enjoyed a taste of the Calypso classic, “Day-O” HERE

PHOTOS:  The fun was contagious and the smiles were abundant, as you can see from these photos:

 

 

 

JULY 21: Ukrainian Music and Dance presented by the Russian group, Barynya – With vibrantly colored costumes based on traditional village dress, Barynya’s dancers draw from Ukraine’s diverse regional traditions and from neighboring cultures such as Poland and Romania, accompanied by live music on instruments such as the balalaika and the garmoshka (folk button accordion). Dancers from Barynya have performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Smithsonian Institute, and the United Nations.

The threatening weather and heat index didn’t deter 313 hardy souls who thoroughly enjoyed a performance of Ukrainian dance and music featuring Ukrainian dancers Olga Chpitalnaia and Sergij Tsyghanok. Mikhail Smirnov accompanied the dancers on guitar and garmoshka (button accordion) and Elina Karokhina demonstrated her virtuosity on balalaika, ingeniously incorporating a mashup of music from multiple traditions, including Mozart’s fabled Turkish March, his Symphony in G minor, Brahm’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5, Flight of the Bumblebee, Monti’s Csardas, Bizet’s Carmen, excerpts from Fiddler on the Roof, the classic Dark Eyes, Borodin’s string quartet used in Kismet and many other familiar works.

VIDEOS:

Click HERE to see Olga and Sergij dancing to a contemporary beat and getting the audience up and dancing or HERE giving a lesson in Urkainian dance steps.  The audience was clearly game to try!  And of course, there was some spectacular dancing in the closing Hopak HERE.  Joy and exuberance were the order of the day…and by the end, the sun even came out!

One can also see a nice sampler compiled by MorristownGreen.com editor, Kevin Coughlin, HERE.

Click HERE to see Elina in action with a bit of Hava nagila, a tongue twister performed by Mikhail, a touch of Paganini, the Flight of the Bumblebee, and Those were the days, my friend…or  HERE performing a balalaika transcription of  Csardas, the famous violin piece by V. Monti.

PHOTOS:

 

 

 

 

August 4: Korean Traditional Dance of Choomnoori (KTDOC) – Preserving the rich heritage of traditional Korean dances, KTDOC performs a variety of dances such as the Drum Dance, the Fan Dance, the Mask Dance and others, showcasing the elegant costumes and distinctive, carefully synchronized, stylized gestures and movements which convey a wide range of emotions, relate tales of village life and depict the beauties of nature.

Over 465 people attended this final performance of the Music Beyond Borders series (including a large representation from our Asian community) and all were entranced by the beautiful dancing, the unique drumming and the exquisite costumes. The dancers included Allison Kim, Won Hiwon, Rachel E. Jang, Rachel E. Yoo, Rayna Kim, MinSuh Jang, Kaitlyn Chang, Hyemin Park, Hana Chung, Hyeon-Ju Lee, Macy Ruby Kim, and Jiwan Kim – under expert direction of the Founder and Director, Mrs. Eunhee  Ahn.

VIDEOS:

Click HERE to see the charming Puppet Dance performed by the youngest members of the troupe.

See the spectacular Fan Dance performed HERE – portraying the beauties of nature’s wind and waves.

For a glimpse of Korean traditional drum dancing, click  HERE and HERE.

Click HERE to see some of The Mask Dance, focusing on a wide range of emotions (and two masks!)

To see a solo dance portraying the grace and beauty of women, click HERE.

For a glimpse of a frame (shallow) drum dance solo, click HERE and to see a traditional hourglass drum dance complete with accompaniment by young drummers and Director Ahn, click HERE.

And to see the opening drumming sequence with stylized dance movements, click HERE.

PHOTOS:

Click HERE for coverage by Editor Kevin Coughlin, additional videos and some excellent photos by Katherine Boyle for www.MorristownGreen.com.