Global Music at the Schermerhorn
American Railroads from the Silkroad Ensemble
The Grammy Award-winning music ensemble, Silkroad Ensemble, performed the American Railroad concert at the Schermerhorn this past Sunday, November 10th. Rhiannon Giddens, Artistic Director of Silkroad Ensemble, showcased underrepresented minority groups who contributed significantly to constructing the railroads in America. Throughout all pieces, they included images of immigrant workers on the projector screen to acknowledge and honor these laborers. At the beginning of the concert, they played a video describing the history behind the American Railroad. These groups included African Americans, Chinese, Japanese, and other immigrant laborers who were represented through their music. When the ensemble members walked on stage, they wore very beautiful, colored outfits, illuminating their music-making. The first piece started with a horn call made by Pura Fé through what looked like a conch shell. This later led to the next piece called, “Tamping Song” which featured Yazhi Guo on suona, a traditional Chinese double-reed instrument, and other string instruments like cello and violins. This piece began with the plucking of strings rotating among each string instrument, creating an echo throughout the auditorium, and then was joined with melodic chanting. The suona would later solo on this piece and create a loud but controlled reedy sound, markingRead More
