Seattle, WA ‑ Early Music Seattle presents, Deep Roots, New Branches, a new series of presentations designed to enrich your understanding of the cultural interconnectedness that forms the foundations of the world’s great music traditions. When people moved – through forced or chosen migrations, along trade routes, or because of conquest and war – they brought their ideas, religions, and music. Educator and percussionist Antonio Gómez is our guide as we explore the human stories behind the music we hear today. The series started last week, but continues though May. Program descriptions are below. A video of the first presentation is included. These presentations are no charge.
ONLINE PROGRAMS BY ANTONIO GOMEZ
Saffron & Honey: Jews, Muslims & Christians in Medieval Spain
March 10, 2021 | 7pm PT
We are all too familiar with headlines of tension and conflict between Jews, Muslims and Christians in the post 9-11 world. But, what happens when we tug on the historical thread and unravel connections we never imagined? From 711 – 1492, the Arab world stretched into Europe by way of the Iberian Peninsula. Drawing from a story of personal discovery, this interactive presentation with audio, video and artifacts explores medieval Spain as a common space between the Golden Age of Islam, Sephardic Judaism, the Middle Ages and the coming Renaissance. Spain not only served as a channel for the flow of ideas and technology into a Europe parched by isolation, it would become a font of advances in science, math, poetry, music, architecture and politics that would ripple across the world. Though centuries old, this inspiring story of collaboration – and cautionary tale of conflict – could not be timelier.
Video of Saffron & Honey: Jews, Muslims & Christians in Medieval Spain
Voices of Longing: Medieval Poets and Troubadours of Spain and France
March 31, 2021 | 7pm PT
New! Long before France or Spain became nation states, their national languages began to take shape in the shadow of the fallen Roman Empire. Through the Muslim kingdom of Al-Andalus in Spain, and by way of the Crusades, these fledgling languages interacted with the deep tradition of Arabic poetry and its courtly conceits, helping shape poetic voices, from Cordoba to Aquitaine and Occitania. With special guests Lian Caspi and Anthony Geist. (Follow-up to Saffron & Honey)
Mapping Latino Musical Migrations
April 14, 2021 | 7pm PT
This presentation explores the shaping of Latino musical genres and how they in turn have contributed to popular music in the USA. For this presentation we focus on the evolution of Latin American music up through the early 1900s, ranging from Mexican sones to Afro-Cuban rumba, Brazilian capoeira, Puerto Rican bomba, Panamanian mejoranera, and more!
Indomitable Spirit: Music of the African Diaspora in the Americas
May 12, 20201 | 7pm PT
Accompany Antonio Gomez and two guest musicians as they discuss the creative power of African heritage in shaping the music of North and South America. Discover the African roots of the banjo and learn how New Orleans, New York and Havana are kindred cities. Travel from the Mississippi Delta to Salvador, Brazil as we trace the resilience of African identity to not only endure the tragedies of the slave trade, but to become a guiding force in shaping popular culture in the Americas.
Arte & Justicia en Latinoamerica
June 9, 2021 | 7pm PT
New! This program focuses on the long tradition of Latin American and U.S. Latino artists engaging in social change through music, dance, theater, poetry and visual art. From the Mexican muralist movement to the political critiques of Puerto Rican plena, nueva cancion in Chile, popular theater of the Chicano Movement and politicized reggaeton, we will explore how music ties to social justice struggles.
About Antonio
Born in South Texas to a Chicano activist and an Italian American VISTA volunteer, Tony moved often growing up. Music and language became constant companions in decoding ever-changing cultural ecologies between South Texas, the Bay Area, and Tucson. This trajectory formed his calling to develop cultural dialogue and empathy. Tony specializes in not belonging anywhere, but making friends everywhere. Mestizaje – a mixed identity formed at the intersection of cultures – shapes his work as a musician, curator, educator, and producer. Having studied on four continents, he plays Afro-Latin, Mediterranean, and Arabic percussion. Previously a K12 teacher, he has served as an educator and curriculum writer for public television and is now the Education Manager at Tacoma Arts Live. Being a working musician is indivisible from being educator, an arts administrator, and a parent. The same heart that draws him to teach compels him to speak through the drum.
Early Music Seattle website
Antonio’s Facebook page
