Intercultural Journeys Announces 2015/16 Season: The Artistry of Identity and Transformation

Philadelphia, Sept. 14, 2015 – Intercultural Journeys is proud to announce its 2015/16 season: The Artistry of Identity and Transformation in partnership with International House Philadelphia. The season will feature four exciting concerts and a special dance performance, plus a new event – our first free season preview featuring performances and panel discussions with the artists on Thursday, October 1 at 6 p.m. at International House’s Ibrahim Theater, 3701 Chestnut Street, the venue for Intercultural Journeys.  

The season will feature performances by GRAMMY nominee, Christylez Bacon; Kinan Azmeh and Kevork Mourad, two members of Yo-Yo Ma's famed Silk Road Ensemble; 2013/14 Strathmore Artist-in-Residence, Nistha Raj; Lela Aisha Jones, a 2013 Dance Philadelphia ROCKY Award-winner; and percussionist/vocalist Alex Shaw, curator for Intercultural Journeys.  

“Our 2015-16 season, The Artistry of Identity and Transformation, offers multiple opportunities to examine the relationship between artistic practice, identity and the role of artistry in social transformation,” Shaw said. “This season's artists offer diverse perspectives on identity and contemplations on historical and contemporary conflicts in various parts of the world, including Venezuela, Syria, India, Brazil and the United States.”

All performances are held at the Ibrahim Theater Season subscriptions are priced at $75.  Ticket prices for single concerts: General Admission $15, International House members $10, Students $8.  To purchase tickets, visit www.ihousePhilly.org/IJ or call 215-387-5125.

PERFORMANCES

Intercultural Journeys Season Kick-Off!

October 1, 2015 – 6PM

Join us for our inaugural season kick-off as we share our new approach to curating peace and cultural understanding through the arts and dialogue. Meet our enticing line-up of artists, enjoy preview performances their work and hear their perspectives during our featured panel discussion around this season’s theme, The Artistry of Identity and Transformation. A festive Balkan dance party with West Philadelphia Orchestra will close out the evening.

Luigi Mazzocchi: ¡Contrastes!

October 18, 2015 – 7PM

Pennsylvania Ballet Concertmaster Luigi Mazzocchi and special guests celebrate popular music from the various regions of his native Venezuela, and showcase compositions by classic and contemporary Venezuelan composers, featuring a world premiere composition by Efraín Amaya.  This concert pays homage to the late composer and folk singer Simón Díaz, and serves as an offering of peace in response to the recent violence and civil unrest in Venezuela.

Nistha Raj and Christylez Bacon: Hip-Hop Meets Hindustani

November 20, 2015 – 8PM

Indian classical violinist Nistha Raj and GRAMMY-nominated progressive Hip-Hop artist Christylez Bacon present collaborative works mixing genres of music native to their own cultural upbringings. Creatively exploring the spaces between Hindustani classical music, acoustic Hip-Hop, and Go-Go from Washington, D.C., this innovative project unites divergent musical traditions to reveal commonalities beneath the surface of our perceived differences.

Kinan Azmeh and Kevork Mourad: Home Within

January 24, 2016 – 7 PM

Silk Road ensemble members, Syrian composer and clarinetist, Kinan Azmeh, and Syrian-Armenian visual artist, Kevork Mourad, present their newest project, Home Within. This searing work offers a poignant impressionistic reflection on the Syrian revolution and its aftermath by interweaving live illustrations, visuals, and original compositions.                                                                                                   

Alex Shaw: The Mandinga Experiment

March 11, 2016 – 8 PM

Percussionist/vocalist Alex Shaw debuts a new collaborative tribute to Capoeira Angola and its resilient cultural legacy of resistance against oppression. Accompanied by live vintage visuals and featuring musicians, dancers, and capoeiristas from both Brazil and the U.S., this project is an amalgamation of original compositions and contemporary interpretations of traditional Afro-Brazilian rhythms and songs.

Lela Aisha Jones/FlyGround: Native Portals

April 23, 2016 – 8 PM and April 24, 2016 – 7 PM

2013 Dance Philadelphia ROCKY Award Winner, Lela Aisha Jones, and her company FlyGround present, Native Portals, a two-part movement performance series that delves into historical experiences of lynching, contemplates nation love, and deepens our understanding of reconciliation and healing.  Featuring excerpts from Lynching and Love (2012), FlyGround will premiere Release Clearing Mourning (2015), featuring a tapestry of traditions rising from the experiences of diasporic blackness in dance, text, soundscapes and live music.

About Intercultural Journeys

Intercultural Journeys seeks to promote peace and greater understanding between people of diverse backgrounds, faiths, and cultures through the arts as a catalyst for social change and awareness. Intercultural Journeys was founded in 2002 by Philadelphia Orchestra cellist Udi Bar-David, philanthropist Carole Haas Gravagno, Majid Alsayegh and Sheldon L. Thompson. Together, they saw the role that music could play in beginning a dialogue between people that might not otherwise speak to each other. Since then, Intercultural Journeys has held over 160 concerts, partnering with a diverse roster of local and international artists, in the Greater Philadelphia area, across the United States and abroad, in countries such as China, Spain, Italy and Israel.