CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Sunday, February 24, 2013, 11am & 3pm oakland folkharmonic founder of Class V Music, an ensemble dedicat- Wheeler Auditorium ed to providing music on river rafting trips. She The Oakland Folkharmonic is Shira Kammen has performed and taught in the United States, and Kaila Flexer’s new string ensemble featur- Canada, Mexico, Europe, Israel, , First Stage for Families ing the two of them plus Kyla Danysh and sis- Latvia, Russia, and Japan, and on the Colorado, ters Rachel and Danielle Taylor on a variety of Rogue, Green, Grande Ronde, East Carson, and stringed instruments, including violin, viola, vi- Klamath rivers. elle, and tarhui. The repertoire of this ensemble Oakland Folkharmonic & Teslim ranges from traditional modal music of Greece, Violinist Kyla Danysh, a Turkey, and the Middle East to medieval mu- Berkeley native, is a litera- sic and original compositions by Ms. Flexer, cy teacher and musician Ms. Kammen, Ross Daly, and Kelly Thoma. who has been playing the violin since she was four. Kaila Flexer (violin, tarhui) is a violinist, com- She studied classical and poser, and music educator. In addition to per- Klezmer music through- forming and recording with Teslim, Ms. Flexer out her childhood and ad- also performs with Shira Kammen and three olescence, and was a mem- other fiddlers in the Oakland Folkharmonic. ber of the University Ms. Flexer founded and produced Klezmer Opera and Orchestra at Mania!, a much-loved annual Bay Area event UC Santa Cruz. As an adult, Ms. Danysh has for over ten years (1989–2002), and currently explored her passion for improvisation with the produces Pomegranates & Figs: A Feast of Jewish Son Jarocho and Son Huasteco traditions of Music. She has been at the helm of such bands Mexico, traveling to Veracruz on multiple occa- as Third Ear, Next Village, and Kaila Flexer’s sions to record and perform. Most recently, Fieldharmonik, ensembles that featured her Ms. Danysh is enjoying the humbling process of original material. She has performed both learning to play gypsy jazz in the tradition of nationally internationally with her own Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, a ensembles, as well as with the Hollis Taylor- dream of hers since she was 16. In addition to Kaila Flexer Duo, Club Foot Orchestra, and playing the violin, Ms. Danysh loves hanging Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble. In addition, out in the Oakland redwoods, and working she has recorded two CDs of original music for with teenagers. Compass Records (Nashville). Ms. Flexer has a thriving studio of students of all ages. She en- Violinist and violist Rachel Taylor, an Oakland with Special Guests courages folk musicians to read music, classical native, began studying violin at age nine at the musicians to improvise and to play by ear, and Crowden School. In 2002, Ms. Taylor joined Miles Jay, bass everyone to enjoy music and to find and appreci- the Oakland Youth Orchestra, where she par- Tobias Roberson, percussion ate their own voice. ticipated in tours to Australia, New Zealand, and Greece. In 2004, she attended the San Multi-instrumentalist Shira Kammen (viola, Domenico School and Virtuoso Program. That viola, vielle) has spent well over half her life ex- year, Ms. Taylor was also the recipient of From PROGRAM ploring the worlds of early and traditional mu- the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. sic. A member for many years of the early music She graduated from Northwestern University’s The program will be announced from the stage. There will be no intermission. Ensembles Alcatraz and Project Ars Nova, and School of Music, and throughout her musical Medieval Strings, she has also worked with career has enjoyed master classes with Bonnie Sequentia, Hespèrion XX, the Boston Camerata, Hampton, Yuri Bashmet, the Alexander String Kitka, the King’s Noyse, the Newberry and Quartet, the Jupiter Quartet, the Cavanni Folger consorts, the Oregon, California, and String Quartet, and many others. She is current- Cal Performances’ 2012–2013 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo. San Francisco Shakespeare festivals, and is the ly a preschool teacher in Seattle, Washington,

16 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 17 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS and continues her musical endeavors with the In addition to playing in Teslim, Gari Hegedus Coming home from a five- Oakland Folkharmonic. (, mandocello, divan saz, baglama) is sought year sabbatical in India, after for his very personal and heartfelt approach where he studied Carnatic Violinist and violist Danielle Taylor, a native of to music. He performs with the world music violin and voice, Tobias Oakland, started playing the violin in the fourth groups Janam, the Helladelics, Eliyahu and the Roberson (percussion) brings grade in the Oakland public schools. Since then, Qadim Ensemble, Hamed Nikpay, and numer- new depth and character to she has attended the Crowden School, gradu- ous other Bay Area Balkan ensembles. He is also the shores of America ated from the San Domenico School Virtuoso a luthier and spends many hours making instru- through his reappearance Program in San Anselmo, and played in both ments—repairing old sazes and he finds on Middle Eastern and the Berkeley and Oakland youth orchestras. She and coaxing out the true voice of these trea- Balkan percussive instru- recently graduated from Oberlin Conservatory sures. Mr. Hegedus has studied with oud master ments. Mr. Roberson is renowned for his inno- and College with degrees in violin performance Naseer Shamma. He has toured with the vative style and savvy improvisations on the dar- and African American studies. She enjoys play- Mevlevi Dervish (Sufi) Order of America and buka and cajón. He regularly teaches ing listening to and learning different music, continues to participate in Turkish ceremonial international workshops on finger cymbals and playing chamber and orchestral music, and and devotional gatherings around the country. Middle Eastern percussion. He has collaborated teaching. She is the proud mother of a two-year- with many dance troupes, including Fat Chance old daughter! Belly Dance and Rachel Brice & The Indigo. special guests Mr. Roberson is currently a member of the world jazz quintet Elameno and has worked teslim Miles Jay (bass) is an inter- closely in the past with the Toids, Stellamara, nationally active contra- Kitka, and the UC Santa Barbara Middle bassist, multi-instrumental- Eastern Ensemble. ist, and composer. From his roots in jazz and classical music, Mr. Jay has devoted himself to the music of the eastern Mediterranean, hav- ing based himself out of Cairo and Beirut the last six years to work as a musician and develop his sound. Inspired to ex- pand the musical role of the bass in Near Eastern music, Mr. Jay has invented and hand-built his Teslim (tes-leem) means both “commit” and own unique instrument, the Contrabass , “surrender” in Turkish and features two well- which combines attributes of several traditional known Bay Area musicians: violinist Kaila Arabian/North African instruments, with the Flexer and Gari Hegedus on oud, Turkish playing position of an upright bass. To his play- saz, Greek lauoto, and other (mostly plucked) ing approach, Mr. Jay has adapted a whole range stringed instruments. This potent duo performs of melodic techniques from , Turkish, Greek, Turkish and Sephardic music. In addi- and Greek music. he has performed in over 20 tion, both Ms. Flexer and Mr. Hegedus are com- countries, in such venues as Carnegie Hall, the posers whose original music is based on these Emirates Palace, and the United Nations, with fertile traditions. such artists as Youssou N’Dour, Ziad Rahbani, Naseer Shamma, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Kaila Flexer (violin, tarhui) (see above). Mashroa Layla, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Ross Daly, Trygve Seim, Fathya Salama, Azam Ali and Niyaz, Zeid Hamdan, and Dr. Ali Jihad Racy. His 2012 solo recording, The Troposphere, has just been released.

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