Borderless Band, Featuring Mike Block - Co-presented by Diaspora Arts Connection
SEE EVENT DETAILSBorderless Band
Last year, three Persian musicians embarked on a journey to bring the music of their home country to North America. Their vision was to take the unique melodies of the Iranian Radif and create new compositions in modern styles that would make the traditional music of Iran approachable to people of all nationalities.
However, when the project was only beginning, two of the musicians, Kourosh Babaei (who lives in Canada) and Homayuon Nasiri (who lives in Iran) were unable to come to the USA because President Trump’s Travel Ban prevented them from applying for a visa. Though we had already planned concerts in San Francisco, Dallas, San Diego, Los Angeles, and New York City, we had to cancel them all.
After facing this challenge, we decided to change the name of our group to the Borderless Band and find a way to release our music so that anyone could listen to it, regardless of their location or nationality.
Pioneering cello player, singer, composer, and educator, Mike Block, hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as the "ideal musician of the 21st-Century," will accompany the Borderless Band in Berkeley. Mike is member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble (SRE), having joined in 2005 while a student at The Juilliard School. Touring extensively throughout the world with SRE, he has been featured as cello and vocal soloist, contributed arrangements and compositions, and earned a Grammy Award in 2017 for their album, Sing Me Home. Mike also served as Music Director for SRE’s acclaimed opening concert of New York City's Central Park SummerStage 2011 season "Night at the Caravanserai: Tales of Wonder."
Borderless Band
Last year, three Persian musicians embarked on a journey to bring the music of their home country to North America. Their vision was to take the unique melodies of the Iranian Radif and create new compositions in modern styles that would make the traditional music of Iran approachable to people of all nationalities.
However, when the project was only beginning, two of the musicians, Kourosh Babaei (who lives in Canada) and Homayuon Nasiri (who lives in Iran) were unable to come to the USA because President Trump’s Travel Ban prevented them from applying for a visa. Though we had already planned concerts in San Francisco, Dallas, San Diego, Los Angeles, and New York City, we had to cancel them all.
After facing this challenge, we decided to change the name of our group to the Borderless Band and find a way to release our music so that anyone could listen to it, regardless of their location or nationality.
Pioneering cello player, singer, composer, and educator, Mike Block, hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as the "ideal musician of the 21st-Century," will accompany the Borderless Band in Berkeley. Mike is member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble (SRE), having joined in 2005 while a student at The Juilliard School. Touring extensively throughout the world with SRE, he has been featured as cello and vocal soloist, contributed arrangements and compositions, and earned a Grammy Award in 2017 for their album, Sing Me Home. Mike also served as Music Director for SRE’s acclaimed opening concert of New York City's Central Park SummerStage 2011 season "Night at the Caravanserai: Tales of Wonder."
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