OU Percussion Day, OJQ with Regina Carter, Biakuye

Happy New Year!

After an exciting and refreshing sabbatical I’m ready to get back to teaching. In addition to my performance and research travels, I was able to get a lot of composing done and I look forward to sharing some new music with everyone in 2015. My experiences touring the UAE and India were truly life-changing. I had the opportunity to collaborate with so many incredible musicians whose generosity of spirit and creativity enabled me to grow as both a musician and person.

Photo albums of my travels can be viewed here:

Dubai, UAE

Chennai, India

New Delhi, India

Coimbatore, India

Bangalore, India

There is also a video from the final performance of my residency at Ohio University that can be viewed here.

I’m kicking off this new year with several events that I hope you can attend. This Saturday, Jan 10th, I will be hosting a full day of percussion workshops at Oakland University. This free event is open to the public and will include workshops on technology, concert percussion, drum set, steel drums, Indian percussion, and African percussion (register here). Then next Saturday, Jan 17th, the Oakland Jazz Quartet will be performing with Regina Carter at the Carr Center in Detroit. This concert with Regina features the music of Jimi Hendrix (get tickets here). Finally, I will be celebrating Martin Luther King Day (Monday, Jan 19th) with a free family performance by Biakuye at the Ann Arbor Library.

Looking ahead, my Ugandan brother Haruna Walusimbi will be making his first visit to the U.S. this February. Haruna is an incredible performing artist and will be in residence at Oakland University for three months. He is available for school workshops and concerts throughout his stay and we will be doing both an East Coast and Midwest tour. Please contact me if you are interested in scheduling a performance or workshop with Haruna on East African ngoma (music, song, and dance) during his visit.

Thanks for supporting the music,

Mark

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