FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 9, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 43
Flushing Town Hall set to host its last
Mini-Global Mashup series of the year
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Flushing Town Hall will host its last
Common Ground: Mini Global Mashup
concert series for the year with “US-Africa
Meets China” on Sunday, Dec. 12.
Th is will be the fourth concert in
Flushing Town Hall’s monthly series,
which “mashes up” unique pairings of
musicians from diff erent practices and
cultural identities. Th e small, intimate
confi gurations pair distinct solo or duo
artists in collaboration to create entirely
new sounds rooted in old traditions.
Th e venue’s upcoming concert will feature
renowned jazz drummer and washboard
player Newman Taylor Baker/
WashboardXT and Feifei Yang, an Erhu
and Banhu performance expert and
vocalist whose talents are revolutionizing
the global music scene.
Th e series has been curated by acclaimed
clarinetist, pianist, composer and educator
Frank London of Th e Klezmatics, and
includes a post-show talk with the artists
aft er each performance.
“It will be fascinating to hear how
Newman and Fei Fei approach their
encounter and fi nd common ground.
Chinese and African-American roots
music have nothing in common, historically
or musically. But through deep listening
to each other, profound mutual
respect, and a sense of endless curiosity
and creativity, they will make new music
out of disparate sources,” London said.
“It’s what makes these concerts so exciting
for audiences.”
Baker is a virtuoso on the washboard
and a world-renowned drummer, as well
as a teaching artist, composer and vocalist.
He began his journey with the washboard
in 2010 as a member of Th e Ebony
Hillbillies — the only NYC-based Black
string band.
Since then, Baker has been featured with
Vienna Carroll and Th e Folk on “Harlem
Field Recordings,” their debut CD, and
has appeared in venues such as New
York Public Library 42nd Street; Roulette
Intermedium in Brooklyn; Columbus
Coff ee Szczecin, Warsaw and Poznan
in Poland; Th e Glasshopper Nagoya in
Japan; Th e American Folk Art Museum;
and Th e Clemente in New York.
Baker’s debut CD, “Drum-Suite-Life,”
features his compositions highlighting the
various musics created by the drum set
in African American culture. As a master
drummer, he is featured in the worldrenowned
Matthew Shipp Trio.
An international teaching artist, Baker
has taught at Rutgers University-Newark,
Widener University, Livingstone College,
correctional institutions, public and private
schools, music conservatories in the
U.S., Poland, Japan and Italy. Baker has
received awards, grants and fellowships
from NYFA, NEA, Meet the Composer
and Who’s Who Among America’s
Teachers.
Yang is an award-winning musician,
performer and groundbreaking arts
entrepreneur. Hailed as “Th e Chinese
Huqin Girl Stepping into Hollywood”
by Sinovision, she is a Huqin (Banhu
and Erhu) performance expert and vocalist
whose talents are revolutionizing the
global music and entertainment scenes.
Yang has contributed her talents to
notable venues and institutions including
the Lincoln Center for the Performing
Arts, the Barclays Center, the United
Nations, Summer Stage, the New York
Fashion Week, Consulate General of the
People’s Republic of China in New York,
among several others.
She has also served as a judge for the
China Central Television’s (CCTV) China
Youth Talent Show Contests; the Fift h
Annual American Youth Talent and Art
Contests; and China’s National Youth
Music Competition in Liaoning Province,
China. She is a dual 2017 Global Music
Award Winner – Female Vocalist &
Popular Music.
Yang began her music training with the
Huqin, the Chinese two-stringed fi ddle, at
the age of 9 in northeast China. She was
the only student studying the Banhu to be
accepted to the Shenyang Conservatory of
Music in 2003. Four years later, her combined
achievements led her to earn the honor
of Outstanding Graduate Student of all of
Liaoning province’s colleges, and in 2007, she
became the very fi rst master’s recipient for
Banhu in the conservatory’s history.
She was the fi rst-place winner of the
AWZG Chinese Young Artists Talent
Selection. Additional merits include the
Best Creativity Award winner in CCTV’s
“Chinese New Year Gala” U.S. Talent
Hunt. Along with her conservatory training,
Yang holds additional masters degrees
in education from Adelphi University and
arts and cultural management from the
Pratt Institute. She is also a member of
the Chinese Musician’s Association and
Liaoning Traditional Chinese Orchestral
Music Association.
Flushing Town Hall’s Common Ground:
Mini Global Mashup series fi rst kicked off
in September with Haiti Meets Middle
East, featuring Haitian singer Emeline
Michel, Israeli guitarist Dan Nadel, and
their piano accompanist Yayoi Ikaw.
It then continued in October with
Balkan Romani Meets Ukraine, featuring
Eva Salina, Peter Stan and Zhenya
Lopatnik, followed by Yiddish Meets
Argentina, in November with Lorin
Sklamberg, Sofi a Rei and JC Maillard.
In the new year, audiences can look
forward to the series’ continuation with
Southern Italy Meets Senegal (Jan. 9),
Korea Meets Armenia (Feb. 13) and India
Meets Egypt (March 13).
To learn more about the Mini-Global
Mashup series, visit fl ushingtownhall.org.
buzz
“Chinese and African-American roots music
have nothing in common, historically or
musically. But through deep listening to each
other, profound mutual respect, and a sense
of endless curiosity and creativity, they will
make new music out of disparate sources. It’s
what makes these concerts so exciting for
audiences.” — Frank London
Photos courtesy of Flushing Town Hall
Newman Taylor Baker/WashboardXT will collaborate with Feifei Yang on Sunday, Dec. 12 at Flushing Town Hall’s fi nal Global-Mini Mashup series for the
year.
/ushingtownhall.org
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
