Trumpet player and trend-setting music icon Džambo Aguševi returns on tour to California in partnership with Voice of Roma for their annual springtime celebration of Romani music, dance and culture in a one-day festival culminating in an evening concert and dance party featuring members of Džambo Aguševi Orchestra.
Free panel discussion with the artists will cover current events concerning the human rights of Roma communities amidst shifting political climates. Afternoon workshops for brass musicians, percussionists, dancers and singers will also be offered to festival goers, also at Ashkenaz. Tickets coming soon at ashkenaz.com?
6:45 pm-midnight: Concert program:
Džambo Aguševi Orchestra
Stevens Family “Gypsy Boys”
Songs of Šaban Bajramović
Rumen Sali Shopov & Balkan Ensemble Meraklii
Preliminary Schedule:
Afternoon Workshops: Additional registration required
12:00-1:15 pm: Drum workshop
1:30 PM-2:45 PM: Singing workshop
3:00-4:15: Brass workshop with members of Džambo Aguševi Orchestra
Evening Festival Program: Open to all ticket holders
4:30 pm: Doors open to all ticket holders & Panel Discussion begins with artists and Voice of Roma festival representatives
5:45 pm: Dance workshop with Šani Rifati
6:45 pm: Balkan Ensemble Merakliii with Rumen Sali Shopov
7:30 pm: Songs of Šaban Bajramović with Šani Rifati, Marco Ghezzo and Dušan Ristić
8:15 pm: Stevens Family “Gypsy Boys”
9:15 pm-midnight: Džambo Aguševi Orchestra
Individual and group masterclasses with Agusevi band members can be booked by appointment. Contact festival production manager Peter Bonos <peterbonos> for further information, including volunteer opportunities and lessons.
Copresented by Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal. Cofunded by ACTA and NEA. Graphic design by Jenette Selin.
Džambo Aguševi Orchestra represents the apex of the younger generation of Romani brass performers. Džambo, born in Strumica, North Macedonia in 1987, was trained by his father, his uncle and soon ascended to the top of his profession to form his own band with his brother, father, and other relatives. The Orchestra has won prizes in all the major brass festivals and has a busy European touring profile. In 2018 they debuted in California to a sold-out crowd and in 2019 successfully toured to numerous US cities. Their recent CDs inlcude: Brass Hurricane Tour (2014), Brass Like it Hot (2016), and Brasses for the Masses (2020). Džambo is joined by Koco Agusev (trumpet), Sukri Djevatov (tuba, baritone and keyboard), Redzep Nedjatov (drums), and guests. See
http://dzamboaguseviorchestra.com/
Sani Rifati, founder and president of Voice of Roma, is a producer, tour manager, dance instructor, and veteran Romani activist. Born in 1962 in Kosovo in a traditional and vibrant Romani neighborhood, he emigrated to the US in 1993 and now lives in Berlin. He has worked to produce VOR’s annual festivals for over 25 years and has tirelessly educated the public about the richness of Romani folk arts. Rifati has also taught numerous Romani dance workshops, given lectures throughout the US and Europe, and organized summer seminars in Romani music and dance.
Bay Area-based Balkan Ensemble Merkalii & Rumen Sali Shopov pick you up and spin you around with their energetic Balkan and Romani dance tunes! Rumen “Sali” Shopov is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and director of Ork. Merkalii, his student ensemble. Raised in the vibrant Turkish/Muslim/Romani neighborhood of Gotse Delchev, Bulgaria, he was immersed in Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Turkish, Serbian, and Romani music, and also served as concertmaster of the Bulgarian folk ensemble Nevrokop. Since emigrating to the US in 2001, he has performed and taught in numerous Bay Area venues as well as international music camps and has received support from ACTA and the Berkeley Civic Arts Commission.
Stevens Family “Gypsy Boys” is a third generation Kalderash family band composed of George, virtuoso on guitar, and Paul on accordion. They perform throughout California, the Northwest, Nevada, New York and Florida for Romani weddings, baptisms, and calendrical celebrations. The group formed in the 1980’s when grandfather Vine, a renowned mandolinist and leader of the Los Angeles Romani community recruited his grandchildren. Learning in the oral tradition, they blend styles from Manush Jazz to Serbian, Greek, and Russian music. George is also a co-founder, frontman, and songwriter for the Seattle based Rumba Kings.
Songs of Saban Bajramovic features Sani Rifati on vocals performing the repertoire of the legendary Serbian singer who wrote hundreds of songs. He is joined by Italian violinist Marco Ghezzo, who studied for many years with Roma in Csavas, Transylvania. Dusan Ristic on violin hails from a distinguished Serbian Romani family from Valjevo and emigrated to California in 2003. He founded the Amala Romani Music School and is also a visual artist who exhibited at the Venice Bienalle Romani Pavillion.</peterbonos>
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