Violinist Nicolas Kendall, of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) and Time for Three, peforms at the WUIS Suggs Performance Studio previewing his guest role with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.
A tabla virtuoso is in Springfield. Sandeep Das has worked with greats like Yo-Yo Ma and Ravi Shankar. He will play with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, headed by Alastair Willis, on Saturday (CLICK HERE for more info.)
In this interview, UIS ethnomusicology professor Yona Stamatis speaks with Maestro Willis about the concert, called 'Beethoven Meets the Silk Road':
Christy Bennett is a Springfield native who now lives in Chicago where she heads the band Fumée Gypsy Project. Bennett sings and plays accordian. The music they play is called “gypsy-jazz”, made popular by artists like Django Reinhardt. Bennett stopped by the Suggs Studio at WUIS with band mates Casey Nielsen (guitar) and Nate Baker (mandolin).