Shenandoah Conservatory presents the Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble at 8 p.m on Saturday, April 6, in Armstrong Concert Hall on the university’s main campus. Founded 20 years ago by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the ensemble navigates both classical and world music — bridging musical traditions of the ancient network of trade routes, which formed the Silk Road and connected the East and West.
The ensemble comprises an exciting blend of internationally acclaimed musicians and unique instrumentation, including violin, bass, tabla, vocals, piano, Galician bagpipes and a wide variety of percussion instruments from across the globe.
“Silkroad is a Grammy Award-winning ensemble of the highest calibre,” said Courtney Reilly, artistic director of Performing Arts Live. “They are also an inventive and collaborative group of musicians who are creating an entirely new musical vocabulary — drawing on ancient world music traditions, while creating a contemporary sound that is wholly unique.”
Silkroad’s eclectic program includes a work inspired by Joropo — a lively musical style with intricate rhythms from the Venezuelan and Colombian border; a German composer’s homage to the rhythms of Ghana; a meditation on the intermingling of Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures in medieval Spain; and an exciting work that weaves together the percussive sounds of African Shekeres, Japanese hand cymbals, a Brazilian Surdo and the Cajon, a Peruvian box instrument.
Tickets for Silkroad Ensemble are $28 for general admission, $26 for senior citizens and $12 for military, students and youth. Tickets and information are available at the Shenandoah Conservatory Box Office at 540/665-4569, located in the lobby of Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre and online at conservatoryperforms.org.
For a full calendar of events at Shenandoah Conservatory, visit conservatoryperforms.org or Facebook under Shenandoah Conservatory.
