Addy, Chandra to present 'Zankel World Musics' April 28

Ghanaian drum master Yacub Addy and Indian sitarist Veena Chandra will join forces for the first time to present recitals by their student ensembles at Skidmore College. Both Addy and Chandra have been lecturers for many years in the music department at the college. 

Titled "Zankel World Musics," the combined program will take place from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28, in Skidmore's Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

The concert will begin with a 45-minute recital by Skidmore's Indian Music Ensemble, led by Chandra (sitar), and including her son Devesh Chandra (tablas) and Veena's sitar and Indian dance students at Skidmore.

Following Chandra's program will be a 30-minute recital by Yacub Addy and his West African drumming students, including members of both Addy's ensemble and beginning classes. Guest Ghanaian dancer Fosino Nelson from Addy's professional Ghanaian ensemble, Odadaa!, will also be featured in the performance, which includes both original hand drumming pieces by Addy and traditional drumming and dance selections of the Eve ethnic group from Southeastern Ghana.

Drummer, composer and choreographer Yacub Addyis senior among the renowned Addy family of drummers from Accra, Ghana. He is a master of traditional classics of the Ga people and creator of new works rooted in tradition. Addy's art took him from Ghana to Europe and America, where he created the acclaimed performance ensemble Odadaa! . His work preserves and advances the vibrant musical and movement heritage of Ghana.

In 2010, Addy was awarded America's highest honor for traditional and folk artists, a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Chandrais known for her ability to communicate the beauty and complexity of North Indian classical music to the Western listener. She is noted for her skill and sensitivity in her technique, and for her ability to produce vocal sounds on the sitar.

Chandra characterizes the music of the sitar and tabla as relaxing and reflective of instincts and emotions.