Internationally acclaimed percussionist, Kalani, will join the Olympia Choral Society (OCS) for their spring concert “A World of Song” the weekend of April 13-15. As with all OCS concerts, admission is free.
According to OCS Vice President, Diane Decker, this is the first time the 90-member group has brought in a headliner. “It is music like we’ve never done before,” she explains about their collaboration with Kalani.
With more than 30 years as a professional musician, music therapist and educator, Kalani Das has worked with music legends like Barry Manilow, Kenny Loggins and Rod Stewart. He has appeared on numerous soundtracks for film and television and is in high demand as a speaker and clinician. He has also released a number of his own CDs.
“I’m a firm believer in providing opportunities for everyone to connect with and express their personal musicality through any and all means available,” says Kalani. “It’s easy to think of performances as being one-sided, with those who are entertaining and those who are being entertained, but there are many examples where the lines between the two are blurred and everyone becomes an artist.”
He and the choir hope to blur those lines a bit during their second half collaboration. The choir will perform a variety of choral pieces from around the world during the first half of the program then will sing with Kalani during the second half, performing several pieces from his latest CD, “Rhythm Spirit.”
“Rhythm Spirit” is described as “Driving world rhythm beats combined with spirited songs from West-Africa, Brazil, Latin America and beyond. Embedded rhythmic affirmations promote positive messages that build character, spirit and community.” Dedicated to the late Babatunde Olatunji, the music on the CD was written with the goal of uniting people through drumming and dance.
“I met Kalani at the Washington Music Educatators Association All-State conference in February of 2011,” says Terry Shaw, OCS Music Director. “I attended a workshop on drumming rhythms from African and South America that Kalani was leading. He spoke of community building and using music as a tool to bring people together. This is exactly what OCS does- just with voices instead of percussion. So I asked him afterwards if there was a way we could somehow combine our two musics (percussion and voice) to make something unique for our community here in the South Puget Sound.”
“Community music is just that – music that belongs to the community, and I can’t think of a better way to embody that than to involve people in the process of creating music,” explains Kalani. “When I spoke with Terry about a concert where people in the audience could sing along throughout, the idea resonated with him and we embarked on a journey of collaboration. I’m really excited to be working with the choir and I can’t wait to see what happens at the concerts. My hope is that everyone will feel like they can jump right in a join the band!”
When selecting the music for the OCS collaboration, Kalani says that he was looking for three qualities: “That each song have a positive message; that each song have a simple melody that is easy to learn in the moment; and that each song have a groove that makes you want to move.”
“Everyone who comes is invited to join us in dancing and singing. This concert is all about celebrating music and each other. I’m looking forward to working with the OCS and seeing everyone there. I know it’s going to be fun and I hope to see a lot of support for this wonderful organization!”
The melding of music and community has always been important to Shaw and the rest of the choir. Their spring concert is the time they present an annual $1500 music scholarship to a local high school student. This year the award will be split between two wiinners: Brittney Lazaro, a senior at Black Hills High School who plans to minor in vocal performance at Western Washington University next year, and Julie Anderson from Timberline who will be attending Brigham Young University. The two vocal music students will be featured during the weekend concerts.
In keeping with the OCS mission to make good music accessible to everyone, admission to the concerts will be free.
What: The Olympia Choral Society in concert with Kalani
When: April 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. April 15 at 2:30 p.m.
Where: The Koval Center for the Performing Arts, 600 Sleater Kinney Road NW, Lacey WA
Tickets: FREE admission. Donations are gratefully accepted
To learn more about Kalani: http://kalanimusic.com/
To learn more about the Olympia Choral Society: http://olympiachoral.org/
