Ben Jaber plays uilleann pipes at Mingei International Museum
How old were you when you first heard that bagpipes are from Scotland? That’s indeed what most Americans assume. But many other countries besides Scotland—Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and Bulgaria to name a few—have their own unique bagpipes, upon which they play their traditional music. My good pal Jonathan Parker has detailed some of this further in his excellent article on the säckpipa from Sweden.
Ireland’s native bagpipe, the uilleann pipe, holds the distinction of being the world’s most complicated bagpipe. Moreover, it is on everyone’s shortlist of the “most difficult instruments” to play. The uilleann pipes evolved out of the parlor instrument traditions of Europe. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the times of the penal laws in Ireland, there was a need for a quieter, softer-toned instrument. Secular music and dance were forbidden, so the best way to promote such banned activity was to keep it behind closed doors.
The pipes’ methods of construction remain largely the same today as they were 200 years ago. Thankfully, the quality of new instruments being built is now at an all-time high.
All bagpipes have in common a chanter, the flute-like pipe upon which the melody is played with the fingers, and one or more drone pipes that play a single, sustained note to provide a rich foundational blanket of resonating harmonics for the chanter melody. Uilleann pipes take the accompaniment further with the addition of regulators, a strange name for them because regulators don’t really regulate anything. They are stopped pipes with sprung keys that sound single notes when played with the heel of the wrist and fingers. The regulators can be used to great effect rhythmically in dance music as well as to sustain the drone tone in slower music, giving a full sound not unlike a pipe organ.
Components of the uillean pipe
As reed instruments, bagpipes use vibrating reeds of different types and materials to make sound. A full set of uilleann pipes uses no fewer than seven reeds, usually made from cane, to power the chanter. The drones and regulators also use reeds. The reeds are sounded by pressurized air stored in the pipe’s bag, from which—you guessed it—this class of instruments derives its name.
Most bagpipes are mouth-blown, their bags kept inflated by the musician’s lungs. However, there’s a sub-category of several types of softer-sounding bagpipes. (Among these, in my opinion, the uilleann pipes are clearly the best!) These maintain the pressure of the air in the bag not with the piper’s breath, but will a small bellows. They’re played seated with the chanter and drones positioned across the player’s lap. Air is pumped into the bag by a little bellows strapped around the waist and to the arm opposite the bag arm. (The bag and bellows can be set up on either side of the body depending on whether the player is left- or right-handed.) The arms rock up and down, back and forth, squeezing and releasing the bag and bellows with the elbows, thus regulating the pressure on the reeds.
This is where the instrument gets its Irish name, uilleann, which is a form of the Irish Gaelic word uille, which means “elbow.” And yep, uilleann rhymes with chillin’. I know, it looks like it should be pronounced ooo-lee-ann, or you-lee-ann, or perhaps aeolian, but not so. Try saying chillin’ minus the ‘ch’. Ill, iller, illest! Uilleann! It’s a term that was ascribed to the instrument in the early 20th Century by the Irish author and musicologist Grattan Flood. Before that, these instruments were known simply as Irish pipes. Uilleann sounded way more exotic, so the name stuck.
Unlike the Scottish bagpipes, whose chanter plays nine notes, the uilleann pipes’ chanter can play two complete, 12-note chromatic octaves. This is achieved with keywork similar to that of other woodwinds of the time. The upper octave is obtained by overblowing the reed, as with an oboe or flute. The difference is that in this case, as we have seen, the airflow is controlled by the piper maintaining pressure on the bag and operating the bellows with their elbows. As one might imagine, getting seven reeds to tune and balance with the three drones and three regulators staying steady, all while the musician is playing up and down the chanter’s entire range, can be very, very tricky. Near impossible. Hence the whole “most difficult instrument” thing.
The instrument’s difficulties contributed to uilleann piping’s struggle to stay alive as an art form. It nearly faded to extinction multiple times throughout its history. As of 1970, the greatest pipemakers in Ireland were all dead and gone, and fewer than a hundred people in the world were still playing the instrument. In 1968, a group of Irish pipers joined forces to form the organization Na Píobairí Uilleann (NPU, in English: “The Uilleann Pipers”) to revive the fortunes of the instrument. Through the efforts of the NPU and other enthusiasts, there’s been a dramatic reversal in the uilleann pipe’s fortunes. It must also be noted that the Internet has had a profound influence on the pipe’s survival through the passing of information (as in this article), as well as online instruction and recordings.
In 2017, UNESCO officially recognized uilleann piping as an element of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Now in 2024, I’m happy to report that more people than ever are playing the uilleann pipes in just about every corner of the globe. Some of the finest pipes ever built are being made in Sapporo, Japan, of all places!
From its humble beginnings, the uilleann pipes evolved into a sophisticated instrument worthy of the Irish bourgeoisie, with a court piper, as it were, in every house. Eventually, it climbed its way to the concert stages and recording studios of the world.
Piper Paddy Keenan in San Francisco, 1985
The awe-inspiring, hair-raising, soul-wrenching, mind-altering sound of the pipes is what attracted all of us who play it. A dear family friend of mine who played Scottish pipes and Irish pipes growing up introduced me to the classic recordings of the best Irish pipers at an early age. I’ll never forget hearing the first track of Paddy Keenan’s 1975 Brown Album. I hadn’t yet seen what pipes looked like, but then there was this magical drone sound that fired on, followed by the raw, wild, unbridled, soulful, forward motion of Paddy’s chanter playing. And then, there were chords! harmonies! Multiple voices! My young mind was blown, and I was hooked.
I started with the tin whistle, and eventually, as I listened to more of this music, I was drawn into playing the flute. With Paddy Keenan’s recordings also came the music of the Bothy Band and Planxty, which were luckily among my earliest influences. Though I never had any formal lessons, I consider myself fortunate in that regard because all my teachers, with whom I studied via their recordings, have been the best of the craft. They include Seamus Ennis, Liam O’Flynn, Willie Clancy, Tommy Reck, Mick O’Brien, Robbie Hannan, and Ronan Browne.
Benjamin Jaber is a talented multi-instrumentalist who has studied traditional Irish music since his early teens, being completely self-taught on the uilleann pipes, wooden flute, and tin whistle. He has made a name for himself as a sought-after performer and teacher in the field. Ben has played and conducted workshops at numerous Irish music festivals and camps, including the Lark In The Morning Camp, the North Texas Irish Festival, the Austin Celtic Festival, the EnnisTradFest, the Féile Parkfield in historic Parkfield, California, and the Willie Clancy Summer School in Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare, Ireland. In his day job, Ben is principal horn of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. He remains active in the recording studios of Los Angeles, having many film and TV projects to his credit.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Uillean-Pipes-19th-Century.jpg6281200Ben Jaberhttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngBen Jaber2024-02-21 09:40:412024-03-10 16:35:18Rhymes with Chillin’ : The Irish Uilleann Pipes
Born in Mexico City, Silvio Diaz grew up in Ensenada and Tijuana in an artistic household. His family produced educational performances for children, featuring puppetry, theater, and music. At a young age, Silvio played various musical instruments, including the clarinet, guitar, and drum set, along with other forms of percussion. Additionally, he participated in his family’s puppetry, theater, and music productions, performing in Mexico, Spain, and the United States.
While performing with his family, Silvio pursued his interest in visual arts and Latin percussion. He attended an arts high school in Mexico City before earning a bachelor’s degree in music composition from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico. His journey as a musician involved playing in several bands, each specializing in different genres—including reggae, rock, and Latin music—while pursuing his own musical goals.
In 2018, Silvio relocated to San Diego to join his father and brother in their percussion ensemble Drummers Without Borders. Since its formation, Drummers Without Borders has been dedicated to providing music education to underserved communities, schools, correctional facilities, and the general public. The group uses rhythm as a fundamental tool to engage students and help them feel a sense of accomplishment. Their programs sometimes end with a parade with large puppets and rows of children marching with drums.
Drummers Without Borders has performed for the Center for World Music in two recent series: “Music on the Move: Border Stories” at The Front Arte Cultura Gallery and “Sound of the Border | Sonido de la Frontera” at Mingei International Museum.As a teaching artist with the CWM’s World Music in the Schools program, Silvio introduces students to the percussive rhythms of Latin America. He encourages his pupils to start simple, try new things, collaborate, and express themselves. His goal is to inspire confidence and teamwork.
Thanks to a partnership between the CWM, San Diego Unified’s Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Department, the VAPA Foundation, and the California Arts Council, Silvio participated in a program at Balboa Elementary highlighting the music and rhythms of Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.
San Diego’s KUSI News featured this class for bringing culturally relevant music programming into schools:
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Silvio-Diaz-Mingei-Performance.jpg6751200Stefanie Schmitzhttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngStefanie Schmitz2024-01-22 14:04:512024-02-03 14:19:06Silvio Diaz: Empowering Students through Latin Rhythms
The angklung is a bamboo rattle from West Java, Indonesia. It is an example of an idiophone, an instrument that is struck, scraped, or—as in this case—shaken. Instruments similar to the angklung can be found throughout Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Ethnomusicologists date the use of the angklung in Indonesia to the seventh century CE.
The angklung is constructed by suspending two to four graduated bamboo tubes on a frame (see figure 1), which is shaken vigorously from left to right when the instrument is being played.
The instrument’s creation story points to its importance for agrarian rituals.
While scholars speculate that the rattling of bamboo stalks growing in the forest may have been the inspiration for the instrument, locals tell a legend of the rice goddess:
Desperate that the rice wasn’t growing, the people called upon their leader, who meditated and was instructed by spirit to cut bamboo and make an instrument. Upon hearing the beautiful sound of the bamboo angklung, the rice goddess, Dewi Sri, was pleased. The rice began to grow again.
In any event, a rich history of using the angklung for planting and harvesting ceremonies was established.
Angklung in procession, rice harvest ceremony, West Java | Photo: Onotrapokenifla [CC BY-SA 4.0]
Angklung continue to this day to be played for agrarian rituals and rites of passage. Anklung are also used in parades, at community centers, in Indonesian music education, and for cultural diplomacy initiatives.
Traditionally, angklung were tuned to tritonic (three-note) or tetratonic (four-note) scales. As the angklung has developed, it has been tuned in regional styles of the pentatonic five-tone salendro scale and the West Javanese (Sundanese) madenda and degung scales (both also 5-tone). Angklung are frequently played along with the Sundanese gamelan to accompany dance and puppet theater.
The most common modern angklung has two tubes and produces one pitch, with the longer tube being tuned an octave lower than the shorter tube. Some angklung have three or four tubes and are tuned to sound a chord.
fig. 2: Angklung on Rack
A collection of angklung can be hung on a rack and organized into rows so they can be played by one person (see figure 2). Alternatively, the instruments can be distributed among a group, one per player, in which case they are played in hocket or interlocking fashion, each musician contributing a single tone to the desired pattern or melody (as in a handbell ensemble).
When playing a single angklung, a musician suspends it between the index and middle fingers of the left hand and shakes the bottom of the frame from left to right with the right hand. In an ensemble, angklung is a great tool to introduce Indonesian music and folk songs while fostering group cohesion and cooperation. This is also why angklung has been used as a form of “soft power” cultural diplomacy.
While Indonesia was under Dutch colonial rule during the 1930s, the “father of the angklung,” Daeng Soetigna, experimented with tuning the angklung in Western diatonic and chromatic scales. Diatonic tuning enabled musicians to play Indonesian folk and national tunes, which led to an angklung revival and a widespread interest in the instrument in Indonesian schools and cultural centers.
Since then, angklung music and performance have spread across West Java and globally. This was in large part due to the educational initiatives of Daeng Soetigna’s student, Udjo Ngalagena, who in 1966 created the Saung Angklung Udjo (“Udjo’s House of Anklung“) performance and learning center in Padasuka, Bandung, West Java. Angklung was recognized as an official music education tool by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture on August 23, 1968, and was placed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
15,110 angklung players set Guinness World Record, Jakarta, 2023
Working with the Indonesian government and global embassies, the Saung Angklung Udjo center has coordinated colossal, world-record-breaking angklung events in which thousands of people play together by following cipher (number) notation and Kodály hand signals. These methods, coupled with the accessibility of the angklung, have made it an extremely effective instrument to teach Indonesian arts and culture to groups of children in the classroom or large groups of adults at diplomatic and community events.
Dr. Meghan Hynson is visiting assistant professor of ethnomusicology in the Department of Music, University of San Diego. She is also a teaching artist in the CWM’s World Music in the Schools program. For an expanded treatment of this topic, see Dr. Hynson’s Smithsonian article, cited and linked below.
For Further Reading
Hynson, Meghan. 2015. “Indonesian Angklung: Intersections of Music Education and Cultural Diplomacy” in Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art Online. https://asia-archive.si.edu/essays/article-hynson/
Baier, Randal. 1985/86. “The Angklung Ensemble of West Java: Continuity of an Agricultural Tradition.” Balungan 2(1–2): 9–17.
Perris, Arnold. 1971. “The Rebirth of the Javanese Angklung.” Ethnomusicology 15(3): 403–407.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Angklung-Payangan-Bali.jpg8571200Meghan Hynsonhttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngMeghan Hynson2023-12-28 16:29:382024-02-03 18:20:10The Indonesian Angklung: From Village Ritual to Soft Power Diplomacy
Sharing her love of Indonesian arts through the CWM’s World Music in the Schools program, Kaylie Kirby is patient, passionate, and playful as a teaching artist.
Kaylie is no stranger to Balinese gamelan angklung (metallophone ensemble) in the K–8 classroom. She began her journey with Indonesian music and dance when she was in 5th grade at Museum School, the school in which she now teaches young students. There she studied Balinese gamelan and dance with master teachers I Nyoman Sumandhi and Ni Putu Sutiati, who were CWM distinguished visiting artists in San Diego back in the early 2000s. You can learn more about her full-circle performing arts journey from this feature story on our website.
After her first exposure to Indonesian arts as a 5th grader, Kaylie continued her studies, attending after-school classes in Balinese dance. Later, she joined Puspa Warsa, an ensemble of advanced students organized by former CWM teaching artists Alex Khalil and Kaori Okado. With that group, Kaylie performed all over Southern California for numerous universities and festivals, and on television.
Kaylie with daughter
She later studied under other Balinese masters, including I Nyoman Wenten, renowned Balinese musician and dancer, at CalArts and UCLA. In 2018–19, she was a member of the Balinese gamelan angklung ensemble Gunung Mas at the University of San Diego, directed by Dr. David Harnish.
Today Kaylie finds joy in sharing her passion for Indonesian music and culture, especially as her own children are now enrolled in the program at Museum School in San Diego’s Bankers Hill neighborhood.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Kaylie-Kirby-USD-Gamelan-2018.jpg6281200Laurel Grinnell-Wilsonhttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngLaurel Grinnell-Wilson2023-12-18 09:20:262023-12-18 14:14:33Kaylie Kirby: Continuing a Legacy of Indonesian Arts
There’s a fascinating variety of traditional music to be found in the San Diego area. Mike De Smidt tells us about the weekly Irish music sessions at The Ould Sod, an Irish pub on Adams Avenue.
Many people became familiar with Irish traditional music in the 1990s with the emergence of the stage phenomenon Riverdance. Some may also be aware of something that has existed far longer and continues to be a vibrant affair for musicians and spectators alike: the session, best described as a group of musicians playing a spontaneous selection of dance music. Irish music has a very long history, dating back thousands of years, but the music that is heard today developed primarily in the past two hundred or so years.
One important aspect of Irish traditional music that makes it distinct from many other European musical traditions is its contiguous history, unbroken by shifts in the political climate or changes in cultural taste. Sessions are a great venue for the transmission of this tradition from one generation of musicians to the next.
The purpose is thus not only musical but also social. Friendships are forged and reinforced through the sharing of tunes from the participants’ repertoires. Sessions, moreover, play a vital role in building a sense of community.
The session at The Ould Sod on Adams Avenue in San Diego has engendered a wonderful musical climate for more than 20 years and serves as an anchor for the local community of Irish musicians. Every Tuesday night, between five and ten musicians gather in an alcove by the front door or in the beer garden area at the rear of the establishment and play a variety of tunes—jigs, reels, hornpipes, slides, and the occasional song—for themselves and for anyone else who wishes to listen.
This is an important thing to note about Irish sessions: the musicians, while certainly happy if other pub patrons enjoy the music, are primarily playing for their own enjoyment. That being said, it is a fairly inclusive affair as well. New musicians—of varying experience—are welcomed into the group, learning the shared repertoire and often adding to it with music they bring to the gathering on their own.
While it is a regular weekly event at The Ould Sod, the session still maintains an air of informality that adds to its charm and sense of inclusion. There is no amplification, the instruments are acoustic, and you will find a wide variety of them at that! There’ll be the fiddles, flutes, banjos, and guitars that most people are familiar with, but also more unusual instruments such as the uilleann pipes and the concertina.
Photograph by Michael Eskin
A session is an occasion to celebrate, enjoy a musical culture, and have a great night out with your friends. Tuesdays at The Ould Sod are certainly no exception.
— Mike De Smidt is a musician, ethnomusicologist, and instrument builder living near Santa Cruz, California.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Kevin-C-JMP-Ruarri-S-at-The-Ould-Sod-sm.jpg8001200Mike De Smidthttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngMike De Smidt2023-11-29 15:02:212023-11-30 13:42:59San Diego’s Irish Music Sessions at the Ould Sod
Meghan Hynson was first exposed to Balinese gamelan (gong ensemble) while studying for her undergraduate degree in music education and oboe performance at Boston University. Intrigued by the sound of the gamelan, she soon began studying Indonesian ensemble music, took private lessons on Balinese gendèr wayang (metallophone duo or quartet), and was awarded a scholarship to travel to Bali to follow her passion for Indonesian music and culture.
She eventually earned her MA and PhD in ethnomusicology at UCLA, writing her dissertation on Balinese shadow puppet theater. Having taught at Duquesne University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Monmouth University, Dr. Hynson is currently adjunct assistant professor of ethnomusicology at the University of San Diego, where she directs the Balinese gamelan ensemble and teaches courses in global music.
Fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, the national language of that multi-cultured nation, Dr. Hynson has spent over a decade living and studying in Southeast Asia. In 2019, Dr. Hynson toured internationally as a vocalist for the Indonesian pop band, the Dangdut Cowboys, under the invitation of the U.S. State Department. She typically spends several months each year at her second home in Mas Village, Bali, doing research and furthering her study of the island’s rich traditions.
Meghan Hynson in San Diego classroom
During her career, Dr. Hynson has developed world music curricula and outreach programs for K-12 schools, worked with major museums and international world music festivals, and spoken out for global diversity through music via campus and community activities.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Meghan-Hynson-Leads-USD-Gamelan.jpg6281200Laurel Grinnellhttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngLaurel Grinnell2023-10-03 22:31:462024-02-01 18:33:55Meghan Hynson: Sharing the Music and Culture of Indonesia
Sophie Bell is passionate about making music fun and accessible for all. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Sophie plays the guitar, ukulele, bass, banjo, mandolin, and piano. Hailing from Boston, where she performed and taught guitar and electric bass, she is now a professional musician and music educator in San Diego. She inspires youth to foster community and connection with one another through the powerful language of music.
Sophie has taught students as young as three and as old as fifty across San Diego, in group classes and individually. As a teaching artist for the CWM’s World Music in the Schools program, Sophie shares her love for the ukulele and the diverse cultures in which it is honored and played. Her students strum and sing along with happy enthusiasm while learning the significance and history behind each song.
In addition to her work with the Center for World Music, Sophie teaches after-school music and movement enrichment classes at All Friends Nature School. There, she designed and built mountain dulcimers made from palm tree leaves that students used in their final performance. She has also taught through Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom, a San Diego nonprofit dedicated to expanding the role of music in education and elevating student engagement.
In the realm of rock music, Sophie taught at Gxrls Rock Summer Camp, a San Diego program empowering girls and non-binary youth through music. She also helped organize and led a rock band of six-year-olds at Kalabash School of Music and the Arts in La Jolla.
Sophie participates in a wide range of musical ensembles, including the Mesa College guitar and jazz ensembles, The Bearded Ladies, a four piece theatrical folk band, and the California pop group The Sleepy Pearls, for whom she plays bass.
Sophie’s thoughtful and compassionate temperament, as well as her lively and dedicated musicianship, transmit a love of music and personal expression to her students from the moment they set foot in her classroom. She believes deeply in cultivating the musicality inherent in every human being. Establishing that joyful connection is her heart’s work.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Sophie-Bell-Uke-1.jpg9001200Stefanie Schmitzhttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngStefanie Schmitz2023-09-02 07:52:522023-09-14 12:21:21Sophie Bell: Bringing Joy to San Diego Music Classrooms
The word tar, in Persian, means “string.” This word can be found in the names of many of the instruments that musicologists class as chordophones, including setar (“3 strings”), dotar (“2 strings”), ektara (“1 string”), and of course, guitar.
Mohammad Resa Lofti plays the Persian tar
The stringed tar of Iran and Azerbaijan—not to be confused with the North African drum of the same name—is a plucked instrument with 3 double courses of strings, giving a hint to its origin, the 3-string setar mentioned above. While the setar traveled to North India eight centuries ago, eventually developing into the sitar, the tar was adapted from the setar in Iran only three centuries ago. The North Indian sitar and the Iranian tar are both larger and louder than the setar.
The body of the tar has a double bowl carved from a block of mulberry wood, with a thin skin membrane attached as the soundboard. When it is played with the traditional brass plectrum called mezrab, it produces a full, round, yet clearly articulated tone. It can be played as a solo instrument, in an ensemble, or to accompany a singer. As in many music cultures, the instrument’s sound and articulation mimic the vocal singing style, so the tar is played to sound like Persian singing, which employs a distinctive technique of melodic and rhythmic embellishment known as tahrir.
Ramiz Guliyev plays the Azeri tar
In an ensemble, the tar is often played along with the kamancheh, a bowed fiddle that also features a skin soundboard, and the tombak, a goblet-shaped drum. The frets of the tar are made of gut tied on the neck so as to be movable. This allows players to make small adjustments that might be necessary to play in different maqams, or scales.
The Iranian tar thus continues to be fretted like a setar and tuned according to the traditional system of the greater Middle East. During the Soviet rule of Azerbaijan in the 20th century, on the other hand, Azeri music and the Azeri tar adopted the Western equal temperament (piano-like) tuning system.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Tar1.jpg9001200Farhad Bahramihttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngFarhad Bahrami2023-08-29 20:59:412023-09-03 13:42:05The Persian Tar
Luisa Corredor, a singer and teacher native to San Diego, and Ignacio Arango, a guitarist and bassist from Cuba, are each talented musicians and educators in their own right. Together, they pack a punch in our World Music in the Schools program, working as a duo in the classroom, sharing songs in Spanish and English, and providing musical accompaniment for the students.
Luisa Corredor and Ignacio Arango
Coming from a musical family, Luisa Corredor was exposed to the arts at a young age and has committed much of her life to the performing arts as a singer, actor, teacher, and producer. She is a force of nature on stage and in the classroom, touching audiences and inspiring students with her powerful, soulful voice. She has studied and performed musical traditions from cultures worldwide. Her repertoire includes English folk songs from the Renaissance era, Flamenco, Middle Eastern, Greek, and Irish songs, as well as Cuban, Mexican, Brazilian, and other traditional music from South America.
Luisa has experience teaching as a private voice instructor and for the Encinitas Union School District as an instructional assistant for bilingual and special education classrooms. She also taught Spanish as a second language at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School.
Ignacio Arango
While growing up in Havana, Ignacio Arango was surrounded by Afro-Cuban polyrhythms and the improvisational craft of the native rumberos and soneros (rumba and salsa artists). His deep musical roots shine through in his rhythmic, tasteful, and skillful playing. When he was 12, Ignacio enrolled in the Guillermo Tomas music conservatory in Guanabacoa (featured recently on NPR) where he studied for 5 years with a focus on guitar. His musical career began during his military service, playing euphonium in La Banda Música del Estado Mayor.
Upon demobilizing, Ignacio’s musical career blossomed. He was the bassist for “Show Tropicana” in Cuba for ten years, with which he toured Italy, Mexico, and Monaco. Ignacio has played guitar and bass with a number of diverse bands and artists, including Fusión 4, La Orquesta de Radio y Televisión, Kokopelli Latin Jazz Ensemble, Gilbert Castellanos’ La Conciencia, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Carlos Washington & Giant People, and many others.
Since 2006, Ignacio has dedicated his attention to performing folklore jazz with his family band, Los Hermanos Arango, with whom he continues to perform.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Luisa_Ignacio.jpg6281200Laurel Grinnell-Wilsonhttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngLaurel Grinnell-Wilson2023-08-16 14:35:212023-08-17 09:39:29Luisa Corredor and Ignacio Arango: Sharing Cuban Music in Partnership
Rogelle Zamora is a musician and educator based in Southern California. As a second-generation Filipino American, he is passionate about providing opportunities for community members to learn about the musical cultures and practices of the diverse peoples of the Philippine Islands.
Rogelle’s journey into Philippine music began in 2018 when he met Bernard Ellorin, Ph.D., a leading Southern California expert in Philippine music and musical director of the Samahan Filipino American Performing Arts & Education Center in San Diego. Building upon his experience playing violin with Mariachi Los Broncos, the premiere mariachi ensemble of Cal Poly Pomona, Rogelle developed a strong desire to learn about the musical practices of his own cultural heritage. After graduating with his B.A. in music education from Cal Poly, he moved to San Diego to study with Dr. Ellorin and pursue this interest.
In 2021, he received the Apprenticeship Program Award from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts in support of his study with Dr. Ellorin of Tagunggu’ gong ensemble music, unique to the cultures of the Sulu Archipelago. With this funding, he was also able to supplement his studies with Dr. Ellorin through participation in the 2023 edition of Tribu Tur, a cultural immersion trip in the Philippines organized by KULARTS, San Francisco.
Today, Rogelle performs regularly with the rondalla (string ensemble) of Samahan and the Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble. When opportunities arise, he also teaches private lessons and performs for weddings, anniversaries, and other special events. He most recently joined the Palomar Symphony Orchestra, maintaining connections with his Western classical upbringing as a violist. As an educator, he teaches students of all ages, serving as an instructional staff member with various school music programs and independent organizations across Southern California such as the Filipino Cultural School, Rancho Bernardo High School Royal Regiment, and Pulse Percussion Inc.
Rogelle is excited to further the CWM’s mission to foster intercultural awareness as a teaching artist for World Music in the Schools.
Rhymes with Chillin’ : The Irish Uilleann Pipes
in World Music Instruments/by Ben JaberBen Jaber plays uilleann pipes at Mingei International Museum
How old were you when you first heard that bagpipes are from Scotland? That’s indeed what most Americans assume. But many other countries besides Scotland—Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and Bulgaria to name a few—have their own unique bagpipes, upon which they play their traditional music. My good pal Jonathan Parker has detailed some of this further in his excellent article on the säckpipa from Sweden.
Ireland’s native bagpipe, the uilleann pipe, holds the distinction of being the world’s most complicated bagpipe. Moreover, it is on everyone’s shortlist of the “most difficult instruments” to play. The uilleann pipes evolved out of the parlor instrument traditions of Europe. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the times of the penal laws in Ireland, there was a need for a quieter, softer-toned instrument. Secular music and dance were forbidden, so the best way to promote such banned activity was to keep it behind closed doors.
All bagpipes have in common a chanter, the flute-like pipe upon which the melody is played with the fingers, and one or more drone pipes that play a single, sustained note to provide a rich foundational blanket of resonating harmonics for the chanter melody. Uilleann pipes take the accompaniment further with the addition of regulators, a strange name for them because regulators don’t really regulate anything. They are stopped pipes with sprung keys that sound single notes when played with the heel of the wrist and fingers. The regulators can be used to great effect rhythmically in dance music as well as to sustain the drone tone in slower music, giving a full sound not unlike a pipe organ.
Components of the uillean pipe
As reed instruments, bagpipes use vibrating reeds of different types and materials to make sound. A full set of uilleann pipes uses no fewer than seven reeds, usually made from cane, to power the chanter. The drones and regulators also use reeds. The reeds are sounded by pressurized air stored in the pipe’s bag, from which—you guessed it—this class of instruments derives its name.
Most bagpipes are mouth-blown, their bags kept inflated by the musician’s lungs. However, there’s a sub-category of several types of softer-sounding bagpipes. (Among these, in my opinion, the uilleann pipes are clearly the best!) These maintain the pressure of the air in the bag not with the piper’s breath, but will a small bellows. They’re played seated with the chanter and drones positioned across the player’s lap. Air is pumped into the bag by a little bellows strapped around the waist and to the arm opposite the bag arm. (The bag and bellows can be set up on either side of the body depending on whether the player is left- or right-handed.) The arms rock up and down, back and forth, squeezing and releasing the bag and bellows with the elbows, thus regulating the pressure on the reeds.
This is where the instrument gets its Irish name, uilleann, which is a form of the Irish Gaelic word uille, which means “elbow.” And yep, uilleann rhymes with chillin’. I know, it looks like it should be pronounced ooo-lee-ann, or you-lee-ann, or perhaps aeolian, but not so. Try saying chillin’ minus the ‘ch’. Ill, iller, illest! Uilleann! It’s a term that was ascribed to the instrument in the early 20th Century by the Irish author and musicologist Grattan Flood. Before that, these instruments were known simply as Irish pipes. Uilleann sounded way more exotic, so the name stuck.
Detail of set of uilleann pipes, c. 1940. Note the keys on the regulators. Photo: Terry Moylan, © NPU, 2013
Unlike the Scottish bagpipes, whose chanter plays nine notes, the uilleann pipes’ chanter can play two complete, 12-note chromatic octaves. This is achieved with keywork similar to that of other woodwinds of the time. The upper octave is obtained by overblowing the reed, as with an oboe or flute. The difference is that in this case, as we have seen, the airflow is controlled by the piper maintaining pressure on the bag and operating the bellows with their elbows. As one might imagine, getting seven reeds to tune and balance with the three drones and three regulators staying steady, all while the musician is playing up and down the chanter’s entire range, can be very, very tricky. Near impossible. Hence the whole “most difficult instrument” thing.
The instrument’s difficulties contributed to uilleann piping’s struggle to stay alive as an art form. It nearly faded to extinction multiple times throughout its history. As of 1970, the greatest pipemakers in Ireland were all dead and gone, and fewer than a hundred people in the world were still playing the instrument. In 1968, a group of Irish pipers joined forces to form the organization Na Píobairí Uilleann (NPU, in English: “The Uilleann Pipers”) to revive the fortunes of the instrument. Through the efforts of the NPU and other enthusiasts, there’s been a dramatic reversal in the uilleann pipe’s fortunes. It must also be noted that the Internet has had a profound influence on the pipe’s survival through the passing of information (as in this article), as well as online instruction and recordings.
In 2017, UNESCO officially recognized uilleann piping as an element of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Now in 2024, I’m happy to report that more people than ever are playing the uilleann pipes in just about every corner of the globe. Some of the finest pipes ever built are being made in Sapporo, Japan, of all places!
Students graduate from a 3-year Na Piobairi Uilleann pipemaking course, 2015. Photo: Fennel Photography, © NPU 2015
From its humble beginnings, the uilleann pipes evolved into a sophisticated instrument worthy of the Irish bourgeoisie, with a court piper, as it were, in every house. Eventually, it climbed its way to the concert stages and recording studios of the world.
Piper Paddy Keenan in San Francisco, 1985
The awe-inspiring, hair-raising, soul-wrenching, mind-altering sound of the pipes is what attracted all of us who play it. A dear family friend of mine who played Scottish pipes and Irish pipes growing up introduced me to the classic recordings of the best Irish pipers at an early age. I’ll never forget hearing the first track of Paddy Keenan’s 1975 Brown Album. I hadn’t yet seen what pipes looked like, but then there was this magical drone sound that fired on, followed by the raw, wild, unbridled, soulful, forward motion of Paddy’s chanter playing. And then, there were chords! harmonies! Multiple voices! My young mind was blown, and I was hooked.
I started with the tin whistle, and eventually, as I listened to more of this music, I was drawn into playing the flute. With Paddy Keenan’s recordings also came the music of the Bothy Band and Planxty, which were luckily among my earliest influences. Though I never had any formal lessons, I consider myself fortunate in that regard because all my teachers, with whom I studied via their recordings, have been the best of the craft. They include Seamus Ennis, Liam O’Flynn, Willie Clancy, Tommy Reck, Mick O’Brien, Robbie Hannan, and Ronan Browne.
Ben Jaber Performing at Mingei International Museum for Concert on the Commons
Ben Jaber Plays Reels with Violinist Haley Richardson
UNESCO Video on Uilleann Piping
Benjamin Jaber is a talented multi-instrumentalist who has studied traditional Irish music since his early teens, being completely self-taught on the uilleann pipes, wooden flute, and tin whistle. He has made a name for himself as a sought-after performer and teacher in the field. Ben has played and conducted workshops at numerous Irish music festivals and camps, including the Lark In The Morning Camp, the North Texas Irish Festival, the Austin Celtic Festival, the EnnisTradFest, the Féile Parkfield in historic Parkfield, California, and the Willie Clancy Summer School in Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare, Ireland. In his day job, Ben is principal horn of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. He remains active in the recording studios of Los Angeles, having many film and TV projects to his credit.
Silvio Diaz: Empowering Students through Latin Rhythms
in CWM News, World Music in the Schools/by Stefanie SchmitzBorn in Mexico City, Silvio Diaz grew up in Ensenada and Tijuana in an artistic household. His family produced educational performances for children, featuring puppetry, theater, and music. At a young age, Silvio played various musical instruments, including the clarinet, guitar, and drum set, along with other forms of percussion. Additionally, he participated in his family’s puppetry, theater, and music productions, performing in Mexico, Spain, and the United States.
While performing with his family, Silvio pursued his interest in visual arts and Latin percussion. He attended an arts high school in Mexico City before earning a bachelor’s degree in music composition from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico. His journey as a musician involved playing in several bands, each specializing in different genres—including reggae, rock, and Latin music—while pursuing his own musical goals.
In 2018, Silvio relocated to San Diego to join his father and brother in their percussion ensemble Drummers Without Borders. Since its formation, Drummers Without Borders has been dedicated to providing music education to underserved communities, schools, correctional facilities, and the general public. The group uses rhythm as a fundamental tool to engage students and help them feel a sense of accomplishment. Their programs sometimes end with a parade with large puppets and rows of children marching with drums.
Thanks to a partnership between the CWM, San Diego Unified’s Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Department, the VAPA Foundation, and the California Arts Council, Silvio participated in a program at Balboa Elementary highlighting the music and rhythms of Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.
San Diego’s KUSI News featured this class for bringing culturally relevant music programming into schools:
Silvio teaches for organizations such as the San Diego Guild of Puppetry, Arts Education Connection San Diego, The House of Music, and Bocón Arts. He also enjoys playing music at home with his daughter. His ultimate dream is for everyone to recognize the power of art in education and human development.
The Indonesian Angklung: From Village Ritual to Soft Power Diplomacy
in World Music Instruments/by Meghan Hynsonfig. 1: Indonesian Angklung
The angklung is a bamboo rattle from West Java, Indonesia. It is an example of an idiophone, an instrument that is struck, scraped, or—as in this case—shaken. Instruments similar to the angklung can be found throughout Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Ethnomusicologists date the use of the angklung in Indonesia to the seventh century CE.
The angklung is constructed by suspending two to four graduated bamboo tubes on a frame (see figure 1), which is shaken vigorously from left to right when the instrument is being played.
The instrument’s creation story points to its importance for agrarian rituals.
While scholars speculate that the rattling of bamboo stalks growing in the forest may have been the inspiration for the instrument, locals tell a legend of the rice goddess:
In any event, a rich history of using the angklung for planting and harvesting ceremonies was established.
Angklung in procession, rice harvest ceremony, West Java | Photo: Onotrapokenifla [CC BY-SA 4.0]
Traditionally, angklung were tuned to tritonic (three-note) or tetratonic (four-note) scales. As the angklung has developed, it has been tuned in regional styles of the pentatonic five-tone salendro scale and the West Javanese (Sundanese) madenda and degung scales (both also 5-tone). Angklung are frequently played along with the Sundanese gamelan to accompany dance and puppet theater.
The most common modern angklung has two tubes and produces one pitch, with the longer tube being tuned an octave lower than the shorter tube. Some angklung have three or four tubes and are tuned to sound a chord.
fig. 2: Angklung on Rack
A collection of angklung can be hung on a rack and organized into rows so they can be played by one person (see figure 2). Alternatively, the instruments can be distributed among a group, one per player, in which case they are played in hocket or interlocking fashion, each musician contributing a single tone to the desired pattern or melody (as in a handbell ensemble).
When playing a single angklung, a musician suspends it between the index and middle fingers of the left hand and shakes the bottom of the frame from left to right with the right hand. In an ensemble, angklung is a great tool to introduce Indonesian music and folk songs while fostering group cohesion and cooperation. This is also why angklung has been used as a form of “soft power” cultural diplomacy.
While Indonesia was under Dutch colonial rule during the 1930s, the “father of the angklung,” Daeng Soetigna, experimented with tuning the angklung in Western diatonic and chromatic scales. Diatonic tuning enabled musicians to play Indonesian folk and national tunes, which led to an angklung revival and a widespread interest in the instrument in Indonesian schools and cultural centers.
Since then, angklung music and performance have spread across West Java and globally. This was in large part due to the educational initiatives of Daeng Soetigna’s student, Udjo Ngalagena, who in 1966 created the Saung Angklung Udjo (“Udjo’s House of Anklung“) performance and learning center in Padasuka, Bandung, West Java. Angklung was recognized as an official music education tool by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture on August 23, 1968, and was placed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
15,110 angklung players set Guinness World Record, Jakarta, 2023
Working with the Indonesian government and global embassies, the Saung Angklung Udjo center has coordinated colossal, world-record-breaking angklung events in which thousands of people play together by following cipher (number) notation and Kodály hand signals. These methods, coupled with the accessibility of the angklung, have made it an extremely effective instrument to teach Indonesian arts and culture to groups of children in the classroom or large groups of adults at diplomatic and community events.
Angklung in traditional rice harvest ritual in West Java.
Closeup of Balinese youth playing angklung on a rack.
A fun contemporary group angklung class using Udjo’s methods.
New world record for largest angklung ensemble performance. (Amazing!!)
Dr. Meghan Hynson is visiting assistant professor of ethnomusicology in the Department of Music, University of San Diego. She is also a teaching artist in the CWM’s World Music in the Schools program. For an expanded treatment of this topic, see Dr. Hynson’s Smithsonian article, cited and linked below.
For Further Reading
Hynson, Meghan. 2015. “Indonesian Angklung: Intersections of Music Education and Cultural Diplomacy” in Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art Online. https://asia-archive.si.edu/essays/article-hynson/
Baier, Randal. 1985/86. “The Angklung Ensemble of West Java: Continuity of an Agricultural Tradition.” Balungan 2(1–2): 9–17.
Perris, Arnold. 1971. “The Rebirth of the Javanese Angklung.” Ethnomusicology 15(3): 403–407.
Kaylie Kirby: Continuing a Legacy of Indonesian Arts
in CWM News, World Music in the Schools/by Laurel Grinnell-WilsonKaylie is no stranger to Balinese gamelan angklung (metallophone ensemble) in the K–8 classroom. She began her journey with Indonesian music and dance when she was in 5th grade at Museum School, the school in which she now teaches young students. There she studied Balinese gamelan and dance with master teachers I Nyoman Sumandhi and Ni Putu Sutiati, who were CWM distinguished visiting artists in San Diego back in the early 2000s. You can learn more about her full-circle performing arts journey from this feature story on our website.
After her first exposure to Indonesian arts as a 5th grader, Kaylie continued her studies, attending after-school classes in Balinese dance. Later, she joined Puspa Warsa, an ensemble of advanced students organized by former CWM teaching artists Alex Khalil and Kaori Okado. With that group, Kaylie performed all over Southern California for numerous universities and festivals, and on television.
Kaylie with daughter
She later studied under other Balinese masters, including I Nyoman Wenten, renowned Balinese musician and dancer, at CalArts and UCLA. In 2018–19, she was a member of the Balinese gamelan angklung ensemble Gunung Mas at the University of San Diego, directed by Dr. David Harnish.
Today Kaylie finds joy in sharing her passion for Indonesian music and culture, especially as her own children are now enrolled in the program at Museum School in San Diego’s Bankers Hill neighborhood.
San Diego’s Irish Music Sessions at the Ould Sod
in CWM News/by Mike De SmidtThere’s a fascinating variety of traditional music to be found in the San Diego area. Mike De Smidt tells us about the weekly Irish music sessions at The Ould Sod, an Irish pub on Adams Avenue.
One important aspect of Irish traditional music that makes it distinct from many other European musical traditions is its contiguous history, unbroken by shifts in the political climate or changes in cultural taste. Sessions are a great venue for the transmission of this tradition from one generation of musicians to the next.
The purpose is thus not only musical but also social. Friendships are forged and reinforced through the sharing of tunes from the participants’ repertoires. Sessions, moreover, play a vital role in building a sense of community.
While it is a regular weekly event at The Ould Sod, the session still maintains an air of informality that adds to its charm and sense of inclusion. There is no amplification, the instruments are acoustic, and you will find a wide variety of them at that! There’ll be the fiddles, flutes, banjos, and guitars that most people are familiar with, but also more unusual instruments such as the uilleann pipes and the concertina.
Photograph by Michael Eskin
A session is an occasion to celebrate, enjoy a musical culture, and have a great night out with your friends. Tuesdays at The Ould Sod are certainly no exception.
— Mike De Smidt is a musician, ethnomusicologist, and instrument builder living near Santa Cruz, California.
See a short video of a typical Irish session, from Joe McHugh’s Pub in the village of Liscannor on the west coast of Ireland.
3373 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 284-6594
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Meghan Hynson: Sharing the Music and Culture of Indonesia
in CWM News, World Music in the Schools/by Laurel GrinnellMeghan Hynson with angklung in Java
Meghan Hynson was first exposed to Balinese gamelan (gong ensemble) while studying for her undergraduate degree in music education and oboe performance at Boston University. Intrigued by the sound of the gamelan, she soon began studying Indonesian ensemble music, took private lessons on Balinese gendèr wayang (metallophone duo or quartet), and was awarded a scholarship to travel to Bali to follow her passion for Indonesian music and culture.
She eventually earned her MA and PhD in ethnomusicology at UCLA, writing her dissertation on Balinese shadow puppet theater. Having taught at Duquesne University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Monmouth University, Dr. Hynson is currently adjunct assistant professor of ethnomusicology at the University of San Diego, where she directs the Balinese gamelan ensemble and teaches courses in global music.
Fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, the national language of that multi-cultured nation, Dr. Hynson has spent over a decade living and studying in Southeast Asia. In 2019, Dr. Hynson toured internationally as a vocalist for the Indonesian pop band, the Dangdut Cowboys, under the invitation of the U.S. State Department. She typically spends several months each year at her second home in Mas Village, Bali, doing research and furthering her study of the island’s rich traditions.
Meghan Hynson in San Diego classroom
During her career, Dr. Hynson has developed world music curricula and outreach programs for K-12 schools, worked with major museums and international world music festivals, and spoken out for global diversity through music via campus and community activities.
As a teaching artist with the CWM’s World Music in the Schools program, Dr. Hynson teaches Balinese gamelan angklung and Indonesian angklung rattles.
Meghan Hynson Plays Gendèr Wayang in Bali
Meghan Playing Sundanese Gamelan Degung
Leading the University of San Diego’s Gamelan Gunung Mas
Sophie Bell: Bringing Joy to San Diego Music Classrooms
in CWM News/by Stefanie SchmitzSophie Bell is passionate about making music fun and accessible for all. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Sophie plays the guitar, ukulele, bass, banjo, mandolin, and piano. Hailing from Boston, where she performed and taught guitar and electric bass, she is now a professional musician and music educator in San Diego. She inspires youth to foster community and connection with one another through the powerful language of music.
In addition to her work with the Center for World Music, Sophie teaches after-school music and movement enrichment classes at All Friends Nature School. There, she designed and built mountain dulcimers made from palm tree leaves that students used in their final performance. She has also taught through Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom, a San Diego nonprofit dedicated to expanding the role of music in education and elevating student engagement.
Sophie participates in a wide range of musical ensembles, including the Mesa College guitar and jazz ensembles, The Bearded Ladies, a four piece theatrical folk band, and the California pop group The Sleepy Pearls, for whom she plays bass.
Sophie’s thoughtful and compassionate temperament, as well as her lively and dedicated musicianship, transmit a love of music and personal expression to her students from the moment they set foot in her classroom. She believes deeply in cultivating the musicality inherent in every human being. Establishing that joyful connection is her heart’s work.
The Persian Tar
in CWM News, World Music Instruments/by Farhad BahramiThe word tar, in Persian, means “string.” This word can be found in the names of many of the instruments that musicologists class as chordophones, including setar (“3 strings”), dotar (“2 strings”), ektara (“1 string”), and of course, guitar.
Mohammad Resa Lofti plays the Persian tar
The stringed tar of Iran and Azerbaijan—not to be confused with the North African drum of the same name—is a plucked instrument with 3 double courses of strings, giving a hint to its origin, the 3-string setar mentioned above. While the setar traveled to North India eight centuries ago, eventually developing into the sitar, the tar was adapted from the setar in Iran only three centuries ago. The North Indian sitar and the Iranian tar are both larger and louder than the setar.
The body of the tar has a double bowl carved from a block of mulberry wood, with a thin skin membrane attached as the soundboard. When it is played with the traditional brass plectrum called mezrab, it produces a full, round, yet clearly articulated tone. It can be played as a solo instrument, in an ensemble, or to accompany a singer. As in many music cultures, the instrument’s sound and articulation mimic the vocal singing style, so the tar is played to sound like Persian singing, which employs a distinctive technique of melodic and rhythmic embellishment known as tahrir.
Ramiz Guliyev plays the Azeri tar
In an ensemble, the tar is often played along with the kamancheh, a bowed fiddle that also features a skin soundboard, and the tombak, a goblet-shaped drum. The frets of the tar are made of gut tied on the neck so as to be movable. This allows players to make small adjustments that might be necessary to play in different maqams, or scales.
The Iranian tar thus continues to be fretted like a setar and tuned according to the traditional system of the greater Middle East. During the Soviet rule of Azerbaijan in the 20th century, on the other hand, Azeri music and the Azeri tar adopted the Western equal temperament (piano-like) tuning system.
An audio recording of the great Azeri tar maestro known simply as Ramiz.
Here’s a short performance by the contemporary Azeri soloist Ms. Humay Qadimova.
Listen to two “old school” masters of the Iranian tar and dayereh, Bigchekhani and Farnam.
From the same period, an improvisation on Persian tar (Jalil Shahnaz) and voice (Ghavami).
Finally, an old standard by young masters on tar (Ghamsari) and voice (Seifizadeh).
Luisa Corredor and Ignacio Arango: Sharing Cuban Music in Partnership
in CWM News, World Music in the Schools/by Laurel Grinnell-WilsonLuisa Corredor, a singer and teacher native to San Diego, and Ignacio Arango, a guitarist and bassist from Cuba, are each talented musicians and educators in their own right. Together, they pack a punch in our World Music in the Schools program, working as a duo in the classroom, sharing songs in Spanish and English, and providing musical accompaniment for the students.
Luisa Corredor and Ignacio Arango
Coming from a musical family, Luisa Corredor was exposed to the arts at a young age and has committed much of her life to the performing arts as a singer, actor, teacher, and producer. She is a force of nature on stage and in the classroom, touching audiences and inspiring students with her powerful, soulful voice. She has studied and performed musical traditions from cultures worldwide. Her repertoire includes English folk songs from the Renaissance era, Flamenco, Middle Eastern, Greek, and Irish songs, as well as Cuban, Mexican, Brazilian, and other traditional music from South America.
Luisa has experience teaching as a private voice instructor and for the Encinitas Union School District as an instructional assistant for bilingual and special education classrooms. She also taught Spanish as a second language at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School.
Ignacio Arango
While growing up in Havana, Ignacio Arango was surrounded by Afro-Cuban polyrhythms and the improvisational craft of the native rumberos and soneros (rumba and salsa artists). His deep musical roots shine through in his rhythmic, tasteful, and skillful playing. When he was 12, Ignacio enrolled in the Guillermo Tomas music conservatory in Guanabacoa (featured recently on NPR) where he studied for 5 years with a focus on guitar. His musical career began during his military service, playing euphonium in La Banda Música del Estado Mayor.
Upon demobilizing, Ignacio’s musical career blossomed. He was the bassist for “Show Tropicana” in Cuba for ten years, with which he toured Italy, Mexico, and Monaco. Ignacio has played guitar and bass with a number of diverse bands and artists, including Fusión 4, La Orquesta de Radio y Televisión, Kokopelli Latin Jazz Ensemble, Gilbert Castellanos’ La Conciencia, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Carlos Washington & Giant People, and many others.
Since 2006, Ignacio has dedicated his attention to performing folklore jazz with his family band, Los Hermanos Arango, with whom he continues to perform.
Rogelle Zamora Celebrates Philippine Musical Heritage
in CWM News, World Music in the Schools/by Lance NelsonRogelle Zamora is a musician and educator based in Southern California. As a second-generation Filipino American, he is passionate about providing opportunities for community members to learn about the musical cultures and practices of the diverse peoples of the Philippine Islands.
Rogelle’s journey into Philippine music began in 2018 when he met Bernard Ellorin, Ph.D., a leading Southern California expert in Philippine music and musical director of the Samahan Filipino American Performing Arts & Education Center in San Diego. Building upon his experience playing violin with Mariachi Los Broncos, the premiere mariachi ensemble of Cal Poly Pomona, Rogelle developed a strong desire to learn about the musical practices of his own cultural heritage. After graduating with his B.A. in music education from Cal Poly, he moved to San Diego to study with Dr. Ellorin and pursue this interest.
In 2021, he received the Apprenticeship Program Award from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts in support of his study with Dr. Ellorin of Tagunggu’ gong ensemble music, unique to the cultures of the Sulu Archipelago. With this funding, he was also able to supplement his studies with Dr. Ellorin through participation in the 2023 edition of Tribu Tur, a cultural immersion trip in the Philippines organized by KULARTS, San Francisco.
Rogelle is excited to further the CWM’s mission to foster intercultural awareness as a teaching artist for World Music in the Schools.