Samuel Nalangira, a world-touring musician famous for his performances on instruments such as the adungu from northern Uganda and the akogo from eastern Uganda, will perform with the Kalamazoo College International Percussion Ensemble in one of four winter concerts coming soon through K’s Music Department.
The International Percussion Ensemble will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, in the Dalton Theater at Light Fine Arts. The ensemble unites individuals with varied musical backgrounds from K, nearby institutions and the general community in West African and Japanese Taiko drumming. The West African group is led by Percussion Instructor Nathaniel Waller. Instructor Esther Vandecar leads the Taiko drummers. Tickets are $5 for adults, $2 for children and free for K students, faculty and staff who present a College ID.
The College Singers is a choral ensemble featuring music majors and non-majors alike that offers mixed soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices. The group, led by Assistant Music Professor Chris Ludwa, will perform with Western Michigan University Adjunct Professor of Voice Rhea Olivacce and the Kalamazoo Bach Festival Chorus at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, at First Congregational Church in downtown Kalamazoo. Tickets for the concert, themed “Love Is Love Is (Volume 2),” are available at KalamazooBachFestival.org or by phone at 269.337.7407.
Kalamazoo College’s Jazz Band, led by Music Professor Tom Evans, will perform a free concert, themed “Vortex,” at 8 p.m. Friday, March 8, in the Dalton Theater. The Jazz Band plays contemporary and classic jazz arrangements to provide enjoyable musical experiences to the students performing as well as to delighted audiences.
The Bayati Ensemble, uniting K students and community members, will perform a free concert at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, in Recital Hall at Light Fine Arts with the Kalamazoo College Chinese Chamber Ensemble. This group, led by Assistant Professor of Music Beau Bothwell, explores and performs the music of the broader Middle East, including music from the Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish and Persian traditions.
For more information on these concerts, call the Music Department at 269.337.7070 or email Susan.Lawrence@kzoo.edu.