Music Archives - Page 23 of 49 - Alliance for California Traditional Arts

Founded by dancer and teacher LaKiesha Golden, Cultural Arts of Gold’s mission is to preserve the arts and culture of Congo. The annual Congolese Dance and Drum Festival, also known as Biamvu Bia Kongo (Bridges of Congo), aims to preserve the history of the cultural traditions of the people Congolese…

Ginga Arts is a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles that emowers underserved and at-risk youth by offering ongoing classes featuring the traditional Afro-Brazilian martial art of capoeira. Ginga Arts uses capoeria — part martial arts, part dance, part percussion, and part game — as an…

Based in Mountain View, Jun Daiko practices and teaches the art of kumidaiko, or Japanese group drumming. In 2014, Jun Daiko received a grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program to support a mentorship with master artist Kyosuke Suzuki. He will instruct…

Founded in 1991 by a group of Vietnamese American journalists, artists, and friends, the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association is a community-based, nonprofit organization. VAALA has organized numerous cultural events such as art exhibitions, book fairs, book signings, recitals, plays, lectures, the biennial Vietnamese International…

The batá is a sacred drum tradition originating among the Yoruba people of West Africa and brought to the New World during the slave trade era. Female in nature, the three two-headed drums played by three men activate a sacred language that communicates with the spirit world of the Orisha (or…

Congolese Ngoma, Drumming

Minyo, or folk songs, have been passed down through the generations in the various regions of Japan. Many minyo originated from “commoners” – farmers, fisherman, housewives, and merchants – recounting their daily lives, their stories, and their hopes. Other minyo tell of religious, historical, or seasonal events. In the past,…

The art of kumidaiko—ensemble drumming with the taiko, a traditional Japanese drum—was developed in post-World War II Japan in the 1950’s. Kumidaiko came to America in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, entering through the Japanese American communities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Jose. Hiroyuki “Jimi” Nakagawa has…

Carnatic music is an ancient tradition of South Indian classical music that dates back for centuries. It is a complex system of music that requires both artistic and technical improvisation. The genre is comprised of raga, the melodic formulae, and tala, the rhythmic cycle. The violin is an integral part…

Afro-Latin percussion refers to percussive instruments, traditions, rhythms, dances, and musical forms that have given voice, identity, and much inspiration to urban communities across the Americas. In specific countries and regions, local percussive/musical traditions are learned in tandem with the Afro-Cuban, Afro-Caribbean traditions that have come to represent…