Filipino/Filipino-American arts and culture
Sinfonia Mexicana, is a non-profit organization located in San Bernardino which began in 1985 to educate the public about the symphonic repertoire of Mexico’s composers. Today, they also maintain an active youth program, the Sinfonia Mexicana Youth Academy, providing music education to over…
Sabrina Hou was a master artist for ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program in 2007 with apprentice, Janice Ng. Hou studied Kunqu opera, the oldest form of Chinese folk opera, at the Beijing Opera Conservatory and performed with the Beijing Northern Kunqu Opera Theater before moving to the United States ten…
Sahab Motallebi began playing the tar (a six-stringed plucked instrument) as a child and attended the National Iranian Music Conservatory in Tehran, the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, and RGS University in Turkey.   Mehrdad Jahangiri studied the Persian tar with master artist Sahab Motallebi in 2007 as part of …
G.S. Sachdev studied North Indian classical bansuri (bamboo flute)  with Vijay Raghav Rao for twelve years in Delhi, India and with Pandit Ravi Shankar for eight years in Bombay, India.  In 2007, Sachdev taught apprentice, Sheela Bringi as part of ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program.
Cher Ker Thao (Fresno) will study traditional Hmong bamboo flute with master artist Pao Xiong (Fresno). Xiong learned to play the flute from his father when he was growing up in Laos. He has been playing for over thirty years and performs regularly at community celebrations and for the local…
South Indian Classical Carnatic music is one of the oldest systems of music in the world. The violin found position in the Carnatic form within the last 300 years. The Lalgudi system of playing the violin is very advanced and is popular for its ability to mimic vocal music. Largely…
African and African diaspora Arts and Culture
Musician and ethnographic researcher, Zina Bozzay founded the Hungarian Folk Singing Circle (‘Népdalkör’ in Hungarian) in 2010. An avid practitioner, she is dedicated to keeping the oral tradition alive. The Hungarian American communities in the Bay Area are active in an annual…
Mohammad Nejad, a Persian-born master multi-instrumentalist, was born to a musical family in Tehran, Iran. As a young child, Persian classical music was passed down to him from his father. In Tehran he attended a special high school for musicians, later graduating from Fine Arts Academy in 1976, and in…