Celebrating Global Music and Dance Locally
Our Mission
The Center for World Music is a San Diego organization fostering intercultural awareness through the world’s performing arts traditions. We create engaging educational and performance opportunities to strengthen the bonds that make us one community.
A world that values diverse performing arts traditions and embraces intercultural understanding, empathy, and respect
What We Do
Our programs in San Diego and beyond serve as a model for promoting intercultural communication, awareness, and understanding.
- Through World Music in the Schools, we engage students in music and dance from around the world.
- Our Global Stage program brings world music, dance, and culture to our diverse community through concerts at campuses, museums, and libraries, as well as intimate lectures and home concerts, offering enriching experiences for all.
- We present workshops of music and dance traditions from around the world: India, Indonesia, Mexico, Africa, Spain, and more. We are especially proud of our highly regarded Odissi Dance School, which has served the San Diego community for decades.
- We support traditional performing artists by connecting musicians with performance opportunities.
- Our Pathways Abroad program reimagines travel as a way of building connection and fostering intercultural understanding through transformative encounters with music, traditions, and local culture bearers. At its core, the program is about learning through relationship, curiosity, and shared experience, one destination at a time.
Our Supporters
The Center for World Music receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, County of San Diego, City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, Gould Family Foundation, Las Patronas, Arts Education Resource Organization, and The Mockingbird Foundation. Recent Center projects have also been supported by the Jason Mraz Foundation, Macy’s GIVES, Peacemakers Fund through the San Diego Foundation, San Diego County Office of Education, California County Superintendents Arts Initiative, Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Foundation, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Asian Cultural Council, San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization, PARSA Community Foundation, The Parker Foundation, US Bank, Weingart Foundation, and Rising Arts Leaders.