Tag Archives: Brooklyn

Events, Featured

Piano Concert by Girma Yifrashewa in Brooklyn – Saturday June 8th

News: Photos From New York Concert by Pianist Girma Yifrashewa

Tadias Magazine
Events News

Updated: Friday, June 7th, 2013

New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian classical pianist and composer Girma Yifrashewa is scheduled to perform at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn on Saturday, June 8th.

“A highly accomplished performer of the romantic repertoire, Yifrashewa has chosen to remain in Ethiopia— where classical music is far from a dominant practice— forging a classical tradition for his own country,” organizers said in a press release. “Using traditional tunes as a foundation, Yifrashewa’s compositions combine the ecstasy of Ethiopian harmony with the grandeur of virtuoso piano technique into an effortlessly enjoyable, heady mixture. In this solo piano concert, Yifrashewa performs works by Chopin, Schumann, Debussy, and Mozart, as well as a set of his own Ethiopian informed compositions.”

Girma, who was born in Addis Ababa in 1967, is a graduate of the Yared School of Music and the Sofia State Conservatory of Music in Bulgaria.

“It was in Bulgaria that he made an impact as a solo pianist, performing the works of Schumann, Schubert, Chopin and Debussy, throughout the country until his return to East Africa in 1995,” the event announcement said.
 “He has a preference and well-determined approach to the music of Bach as well as Mozart and Beethoven.”

“Yifrashewa returned to Ethiopia in 1995, teaching piano at the Yared School of Music until 2001. He received scholarships for short-term specialization courses from the British and German Governments, at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1997) and at the Hochschule fur Music Und Theater in Leipzig (1999). Currently Yifrashewa works to promote Ethiopian and Classical Music throughout the continent and beyond.”

Read more at Issue Project Room Org.


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If You Go:
Sat, June 8, 2013 – 8:00pm
TICKETS | $15 / $12 members + students
ISSUE PROJECT ROOM
22 Boerum Place
Downtown Brooklyn
Phone: 718-330-0313
www.issueprojectroom.org
—
Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Events, Featured

Classical Piano Concert by Girma Yifrashewa in Brooklyn

Tadias Magazine
Events News

Published: Friday, May 3rd, 2013

New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian classical pianist and composer Girma Yifrashewa is scheduled to perform at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn on June 8th.

“A highly accomplished performer of the romantic repertoire, Yifrashewa has chosen to remain in Ethiopia— where classical music is far from a dominant practice— forging a classical tradition for his own country,” organizers said in a press release. “Using traditional tunes as a foundation, Yifrashewa’s compositions combine the ecstasy of Ethiopian harmony with the grandeur of virtuoso piano technique into an effortlessly enjoyable, heady mixture. In this solo piano concert, Yifrashewa performs works by Chopin, Schumann, Debussy, and Mozart, as well as a set of his own Ethiopian informed compositions.”

Girma, who was born in Addis Ababa in 1967, is a graduate of the Yared School of Music and the Sofia State Conservatory of Music in Bulgaria.

“It was in Bulgaria that he made an impact as a solo pianist, performing the works of Schumann, Schubert, Chopin and Debussy, throughout the country until his return to East Africa in 1995,” the event announcement said.
 “He has a preference and well-determined approach to the music of Bach as well as Mozart and Beethoven.”

“Yifrashewa returned to Ethiopia in 1995, teaching piano at the Yared School of Music until 2001. He received scholarships for short-term specialization courses from the British and German Governments, at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1997) and at the Hochschule fur Music Und Theater in Leipzig (1999). Currently Yifrashewa works to promote Ethiopian and Classical Music throughout the continent and beyond.”

Read more at Issue Project Room Org.


—-
If You Go:
Sat, June 8, 2013 – 8:00pm
TICKETS | $15 / $12 members + students
ISSUE PROJECT ROOM
22 Boerum Place
Downtown Brooklyn
Phone: 718-330-0313
www.issueprojectroom.org
—
Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

Art, Reviews

Tomas Doncker’s New CD Blends Ethiopian with R&B and Urban Sounds

Tadias Magazine
Art Talk | Review

Updated: Wednesday, March 7, 2012

New York (TADIAS) – Tomas Doncker’s new album entitled Power of the Trinity blends Jazz, R&B, Ethiopian beats, reggae and urban sounds, reflecting the diverse borough where he grew up in Brooklyn, New York. The CD, produced in collaboration with some of the best known Ethiopian musicians, is also a traveling musical featuring dance performers from the United States and Africa.

“The CD is what I like to call a global soul meditation and how I feel that we are all connected,” Doncker said in an interview. “I grew up in Brooklyn NY, in Crown Heights and I attended St. Ann’s school from 1st grade until the 12th grade.” He added: “Crown Heights at that time was a very dangerous neighborhood. Lots of gangs and violence, but we still managed to maintain a sense of community, at least among the families on my block.”

Receiving a scholarship to attend St. Ann’s made it possible for Doncker to meet people from diverse backgrounds and learn about other cultures. “It changed my life and helped to mold me into the artist that I am today,” he said. “My mother was my first role model, and she was a musician as well.”

Doncker said his latest album is inspired by a play named for Emperor Haile Selassie. “I was asked to score a play called Power of the Trinity by NYC Playwright Roland Wolf and in my research I realized that collaborations with this particular group of artists would really capture and enhance the feeling that I was looking for,” Doncker said. “The process of producing this CD and working so closely with these artists was one of the most rewarding artistic experiences of my life.”

Among others, the CD features guitarist Selam Woldermariam, whom Doncker dubs “The Jimi Hendrix of Ethiopia.”

“I call him the Jimi Hendrix of Ethiopia because Americans understand what I am talking about that he’s got some unique guitar talent,” Doncker said.

The following interview was taped follwing his CD release and tour launch party last December.

Watch:

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