SAN JOSE JAZZ SOCIETY TO HOST FOUR DAY MULTI-CULTURAL ARTS EVENT
FESTIVAL OF CULTURES: JUNE 9-12, 2005
Sponsored by Arts Council Silicon Valley
Distinctive Multi-Cultural Arts Festival Features Twelve Extraordinary and Diverse Groups: Jazz, Indian Dance, Filipino Dance, Chinese Classical Music, Mexican Folklorico, Hip Hop Dance, Japanese Taiko and more
SAN JOSE, Calif. April 20, 2005 – The San Jose Jazz Society, renowned for its annual Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival, will present the 2005 Festival of Cultures, sponsored by Arts Council Silicon Valley with additional support provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Community Foundation Silicon Valley. Featuring twelve performing arts groups from in and around the Bay Area, including jazz, Brazilian, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Brazilian, and hip-hop, the June 9 through 12, 2005 festival will bring together San Jose’s diverse cultures under one roof at the California Theater in downtown San Jose, California.
“We are fortunate to live in one of the most richly diverse communities in the world,” said Bruce Davis, executive director of Arts Council Silicon Valley presenting sponsor of the event. “The California Theater will be the backdrop for this unique and distinct group of artists which literally spans the globe on talent, drive and creativity. This event promises to be both thrilling and inspiring for people of all ages and cultures.”
The Festival of Cultures opens Thursday June 9 at 8pm with “Modern Jazz Meets The Great Brazilian Songbook,” a concert previewing the 16th annual Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival in August. Headlining the concert will be one of the foremost interpreters and composers of Brazilian music today, vocalist Claudia Villela. Villela perform fresh interpretations of Brazilian jazz standards by Jobim, Gilberto, Donato, and more with a 7-piece ensemble of the finest Brazilian/jazz musicians in the Bay Area. As part of the Jazz Festival preview, the concert will open with a special modern jazz set by 24-year-old jazz pianist and San Jose native Dahveed Behroozi with his trio.
The Festival of Cultures continues on Friday, June 10 at 8pm with “Dance Underground” a vibrant dance showcase collaboration featuring San Jose-based “Visual Rhythm Dance Company” with special guests: Filipino hip hop group Nu Origins, theatrical hip hop group Mobility, and San Jose’s Asian hip hop group Bsyde, accompanied by vocalist Jacqueline Herrara.
Saturday’s events continue the cultural exploration with “Pacific Overtures I & II” beginning with a matinee at 2:00 pm featuring the Bay Area’s Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra, followed by the Tahitian dance group, Kawailehua Hula Ohana. Evening festivities begin at 8pm and feature one of the Bay Area’s premiere South Indian classical dance organizations, the Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose. 2005 marks the Abhinaya’s 25th anniversary in the Bay Area. San Jose-based Kaisahan, San Jose’s Filipino-American folk dance company, follows to close the second day of the Festival.
The Festival of Cultures closes on Sunday, June 12, with “Rhythm is the Root” a 2pm matinee featuring a unique pairing of Mexican and Japanese cultures. Watsonville-based Mexican folk dance company Xochipilli Grupo Folklórico de Santa Cruz makes their San Jose debut, followed with a bang by one of the most powerful and exciting drum acts in the Bay Area, San Jose Taiko.
About the Festival of Cultures
The Festival of Cultures, formerly known as the “Performing Arts Series” and “Downtown Arts Series” founded by the City of San Jose, is a multi-arts, multi-cultural event, sponsored by Arts Council Silicon Valley with additional support provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Community Foundation Silicon Valley. The Festival of Cultures is designed to bring the community and ethnic performing arts groups together. The San Jose Jazz Society is producing the event. Known primarily as the presenter of the Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Society serves more than 170,000 youth and adults through education and performance programs throughout the year. For more information, please visit www.sanjosejazz.org
Festival of Cultures List of Events:
Thursday, June 9, 8pm “Modern Jazz Meets The Great Brazilian Songbook” a San Jose Jazz Society concert to preview the 16th Annual Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival, featuring Brazilian vocalist Claudia Villela and her ensemble performing “The Great Brazilian Songbook”, and special opening with performance by Dahveed Behroozi piano trio performing modern jazz.
Friday, June 10, 8pm “Dance Underground” featuring Visual Rhythm Dance Company and special guests Nu-Origins, Mobility, Bsyde, Jaqueline Herrera
Saturday, June 11, 2pm “Pacific Overtures I” featuring Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra and Kawailehua Hula Ohana
Saturday, June 11, 8pm “Pacific Overtures II” featuring Abhinaya Dance Company and Kaisahan
Sunday, June 12, 2pm “Rhythm is the Root” featuring Xochipilli Grupo de Santa Cruz and San Jose Taiko
Calendar Editors:
What: Festival of Cultures sponsored by Arts Council Silicon Valley
When: June 9-12
Times: 8pm, with 2pm matinee performances Saturday and Sunday
Where: The California Theater, downtown San Jose
Tickets: $32/22 ($5 discount on tickets for San Jose Jazz Society members, students and seniors) By phone, (408) 286-2600 ext. 23 M-F, 10 AM – 5 PM, online at
www.ticketmaster.com, or in person at Symphony Silicon Valley Box Office, 467 South First Street, San Jose.
More information: www.sanjosejazz.org
Media Contact:
Anne Smith
Publicist
408-313-8089
anne@annesmithcommunications.com
Anne Smith
408-313-8089
anne@annesmithcommunications.com