Watch an encore performance of Music en Memoriam (online), followed by discussion and Q+A. Presented in partnership with Mosaic America.

Music en Memoriam is a musical journey showcasing Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) through the lens of different cultures. Led by master flutist Ray Furuta and a team of artists, Music en Memoriam features original music with cultural representation from the Middle East, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Appalachian-America, fused together with music traditionally performed during Día de Los Muertos.

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The program is held on Zoom. Registration is through Mosaic America's Eventbrite. Details to join the online program are sent in an email from Mosaic America.

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Featuring

Ray Furuta (Western Flute + Shinobue): Officiated as a cultural ambassador to the United States of America in 2014, Furuta has toured as a performer and teacher across Mexico, Japan, Austria, Czech-Republic, Poland, Hungary, and throughout the Middle East and North America. He has performed for internationally recognized names, including Yo-Yo Ma’s Silkroad Ensemble, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, The United Nations, and the Mainly Mozart, Okayama, Sarasota, and Yellowbarn Music Festivals. As a dynamic performer, he has also frequented the stage as a concerto soloist, championing the contemporary concerti of Yuko Uebayashi, Brett Dean, and Paul Schoenfield and a touring solo recitalist mastering the cornerstones of the flute repertoire.

Amr Selim (French Horn): Known for his versatility and virtuosity, described as "expressive and ghostly wailing [playing] of a kind never heard from the instrument before, Egyptian hornist Amr Selim is quickly establishing a reputation as one of today’s foremost horn players; drawing audiences wherever his horn takes him by his distinctive sound across different musical genres. Having started playing the horn at the age of eleven, he won his first job only five years later at the age of sixteen with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. He has also served as Guest Principal Horn with Amman Symphony Orchestra, National Algerian Orchestra, Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony of the Americas in Florida; under the batons of renowned conductors: Daniel Barenboim, Frank Shipway, Christopher Muller, Ingo Metzmacher, Gunther Schuller among many others. Amr has toured as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher throughout Europe, South Korea, and across the Middle East, and United States.

Taylor Ackley (Mandolin): Taylor Ackley is a performer and composer of Classical, Jazz, and Traditional American Music from Washington State, and he is currently a graduate student at Stony Brook University. Along with his substantial success as a multi-instrumentalist, Taylor has been commissioned by a number of soloists, chamber ensembles, choirs, and jazz bands. His music has been featured in festivals throughout the United States as well as in Denmark and China. Taylor has composed over 50 original works, and he is the founder and director of The Deep Roots Ensemble, a chamber music group that focuses on studying and performing original Traditional American Music.

Vân-Ánh Võ (Đàn tranh): A fearless musical explorer, Vân-Ánh Võ is an award-winning performer of the 16-string đàn tranh (zither) and an Emmy Award-winning composer who has collaborated with Kronos Quartet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and Yo-Yo Ma. In addition to her mastery of the đàn tranh, she also uses the monochord (đàn bầu), bamboo xylophone (đàn t’rung), traditional drums (trống) and many other instruments to create music that blends the wonderfully unique sounds of Vietnamese instruments with other genres, and fuses deeply rooted Vietnamese musical traditions with fresh new structures and compositions.

Joel Davel (Marimba Lumina): Percussionist Joel Davel enjoys the diversity of his career, employing his classical training toward his love of adventurous new music, jazz, rock, and electronic music. As a composer, Davel has written and performed live for several dNaga's dance productions: Reveal, Shaking and Shocking, Freedom House, Lovely Gibberish, and Circle of Sisterhood. Previous work includes his solo Buchla Lightning accompaniment of choreographer Allyson Green at Symphony Space.

Kai Eckhart (Electric Bass): Kai Eckhardt is an Afro-European musician who has made a significant contribution to the evolution of the electric bass since 1989. Heavily influenced by the emerging fusion of funk, rock and jazz in the late 70's, Kai developed a unique style on his instrument long before attending Berklee College of music in Boston from which he graduated with honors in 1987. Kai Eckhardt has performed at distinguished venues around the globe such as the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Philharmonic in Munich and the Esplanade in Singapore. Festival engagements include Montreal Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival in the Hague, Womad World Music Festival in Spain and Glastonbury in the U.K. In the educational field, Kai teaches clinics and master classes internationally.

Jimi Nakagawa (Taiko): Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Jimi Nakagawa started playing drums when he was in high school and performed with local bands before coming to the US in 1981. In 1987, Jimi joined the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, directed by Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka and became a performing member and instructor to adults and children. He later returned to Japan to continue his study of taiko and to perform and was even given a grant to study "tsuzumi (a Japanese hand drum)" with Master Saburo Mochizuki in Tokyo. In addition to studying Japanese traditional music, he has studied jazz with celebrated drummer, Robert Kaufman, a former professor at the Berklee College of Music. In 1999, he and three other members founded a San Francisco Bay Area based taiko group, Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble and started his taiko school, OH-IN TAIKO, in Oakland. After 11 years of performing in the ensemble, he left the group to pursue his career as a solo artist and expand his taiko school. Jimi's work has been featured in film, video, and on stage.​

Mike List (Tabla + Frame Drum): Mike List is a globalized percussionist based out of Metro Detroit specializing in instruments from around the globe. Mike is a versatile artist who explores the intersections of classical, jazz, avant-garde, Western and non-Western music; he has played world music in bars, tabla in church services, and classical music in punk anarchist communes. He has worked with the Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet (world music fusion), Rela (percussion quartet), CutTime Simfonica (string quartet), Nessa (Celtic fusion), Dr. Pete Larson (psychedelic nyatiti rock), Porcelain Hammer (avant-garde rock), Wisaal (Mediterranean fusion), and To Hit (percussion duet). Mike holds a master of music and bachelor of music in percussion performance from Central Michigan University and has studied tabla, mbira, and Arabic percussion. He also teaches privately, accompanies modern dance, and teaches courses that include History of Rock and Roll, Classical to Jazz, and World Music.

About Mosaic America

Mosaic is a nonprofit organization that strengthens communities, cultivates belonging, and catalyzes inclusion through inter-cultural and co-created art. Our team of artists uses inspiration from their cultures and art forms to collaborate on unique performances and expressions that highlight the common threads of our shared American story.