WMI Plus At Home brings you into the personal environments of renowned artists from around the world as they share stories and music in an intimate conversation with a fellow musician, journalist, or ethnomusicologist.These talks were originally presented as live webinars, and you can watch videos of all of our past At Home sessions on our website and YouTube channel. WMI Plus At Home events are supported by donations from world music lovers like you. We thank you! Podcast artwork courtesy of Cody Hudson - https://www.struggleinc.com
Will Calhoun's Mali Project with Cheick Tidiane Seck
Send us Fan Mail Grammy Award-winning percussionist Will Calhoun (Living Colour) and legendary Malian musician Cheick Tidiane Seck reflect on their 15-year collaboration, The Mali Project. What began as a chance meeting in Morocco at the Gnawa Festival evolved into a powerful cross-cultural musical journey—bridging continents, traditions, and sounds. In this conversation, Will and Cheick shared insights into the project’s transformation from a documentation effort to a full-fledged recording in Bamako, including collaborations with some of West Africa’s biggest stars. Learn more about Will Calhoun Learn more about the Mali Project live at the Sultan Room NYC - May 15 Learn more about Will Calhoun's Art Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Arabic Music with Firas Zreik and Ronnie Malley
Send us Fan Mail Artist-composer Firas Zreik and multi-instrumentalist, producer, and educator Ronnie Malley engaged in a dynamic discussion about music, identity, and cultural exchange. Firas, a Palestinian-born kanun player based in NYC, shared insights on the instrument's history, microtonal aspects, and composition. They discussed the maqam system, cross-cultural collaborations, and the evolution of Palestinian music, emphasizing how artists can preserve cultural heritage while integrating modern influences to create music that transcends borders and generations. More about Firas Zreik More about Ronnie Malley Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Percussionist and Bandleader Sunny Jain with Samita Sinha
Send us Fan Mail Sunny Jain, a Brooklyn-based drummer, dhol player, bandleader, and composer, speaks with artist Samita Sinha in the first WMI Plus At Home session of WMI’s 40th Season. The two friends discussed Sunny’s upcoming WMI Season opening performance at Bryant Park along with Gamelan Dharma Swara, and Sunny’s project Wild Wild East, which explores themes of immigration and identity through a fusion of jazz and Indian music. The conversation highlighted the power of music to bridge cultural divides and build community, as well as Sunny’s collaborations with diverse musicians, and the joy of shared laughter. More about Sunny Jain Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Shakuhachi (Japanese Flute) with Adam Robinson and Ralph Samuelson
Send us Fan Mail Adam Robinson and Ralph Samuelson joined us for this WMI Plus At Home session, where they introduced the Japanese flute (shakuhachi). Adam and Ralph spoke about the history of the instrument and the different contexts it was used in as it developed. They discussed how traditional music is taught and how the shakuhachi has grown into a modern, globally connected instrument. During their talk, Ralph and Adam played musical examples of shakuhachi music, performed a traditional duet, “Shika no Tōne” (the distant cry of the deer), and answered questions from attendees. More about Adam Robinson More about Ralph Samuelson Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Sardinian Guitar Innovator Paolo Angeli with Guitarist Joel Harrison
Send us Fan Mail Sardinian guitarist, composer, vocalist, and instrument innovator Paolo Angeli recently joined us for a WMI Plus At Home conversation with fellow guitarist and founder and director of the Alternative Guitar Summit Joel Harrison . Paolo treated us to some traditional music and took us through the decades-long process of crafting his unique instrument based on a prepared Sardinian guitar with levers and pedals designed to add percussion and additional instrumentation to his repertoire, transforming him into a one-man band. Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Multi-Instrumentalist Jen Shyu with Rachel Cooper
Send us Fan Mail Jen Shyu is a versatile composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. Born in Peoria, Illinois to Taiwanese and East Timorese immigrant parents, her instruments include piano, violin, Taiwanese moon lute, Chinese erhu, Japanese biwa, and Korean gayageum. For this WMI Plus At Home, she was joined by Rachel Cooper, Director of Performing Arts and Culture as Diplomacy Initiatives at the Asia Society, as the two mapped Jen’s journey through music. More about Jen Shyu Jen's Journey Through Music - Related Links Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Hurdy-Gurdy Player Ariel Ninas and Devon Léger
Send us Fan Mail Ariel Ninas has been playing the hurdy-gurdy since 2001, incorporating a unique style based on traditional Galician music. His work blends elements of contemporary avant-garde aesthetics, including electronic, droning, and free improvisation. Here he demonstrates the medieval instrument, shares music, and chats with journalist and fellow hurdy-gurdy enthusiast Devon Léger. Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Thandiswa Mazwai with Farima Kone Kito
Send us Fan Mail Thandiswa Mazwai sits down with Farima Kone Kito to discuss her upbringing in Apartheid South Africa and shares insights on her latest album Sankofa , created in Soweto, Dakar, and NYC, in which she brings traditional music from across the African continent and archival Xsosa samples into the present in a collection that Songlines magazine praises as "eleven incredibly unique songs". Additionally, she reflects on the encouragement and inspiration she has received from fellow artists including Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, and Salif Keita throughout her career. See Thandiswa in NYC on Nov 14, 2024 at (le) poison rouge Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Pura Fé and Gwendolen Cates
Send us Fan Mail Pura Fé , an Indigenous activist, singer-songwriter, and storyteller of Tuscarora/Taino descent, is known for her soulful voice. She founded the Native Women’s a cappella trio, Ulali, empowering Native women’s music. Pura Fé explores Native Blues, where she is known for her lap-steel slide guitar recordings. Her music has been featured in many films including the award-winning documentary “RUMBLE: The Indians that Rocked the World” and she engages in social justice events as a speaker and musician. Gwendolen Cates is an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker, photographer, and author. Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
WNYC's John Schaefer with Yonatan Gat, Daryl Black Eagle Jamieson, and Maalem Hassan Benjaafar
Send us Fan Mail Ahead of his performance at the New York Guitar Festival, now in its 25th year, producer, guitarist, and composer Yonatan Gat (Stone Tapes) sat down with the Host of WNYC's New Sounds, John Schaefer, joined by two artists who will also perform as a part of Night Two of the festival - Daryl Black Eagle Jamieson of the Eastern Medicine Singers and Gnawa master Maalem Hassan Benjaafar. Rounding out the Night Two lineup will be Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Mamady Kouyaté, and Laraaji, John Schaefer will host both nights - June 14 and 15, 2024 at Kaufman Music Center in Manhattan. Link to Night One - Marc Ribot & Leyla McCalla, Yasmin Williams, Neel Murgai & Kunal Prakash Link to Night Two - The Medicine Singers featuring Yonatan Gat and Lee Ranaldo, Maalem Hassan Benjaafar, Mamady Kouyaté, and Laraaji Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Haleh Liza Gafori and Shahzad Ismaily - The Poetry of Rumi
Send us Fan Mail In this WMI Plus At Home, Haleh Liza Gafori and Shahzad Ismaily engage in a conversation about the timeless and universal appeal of the music and poetry of Rumi. Rumi was a Persian Sufi mystic and dervish from the 13th century whose spiritual writings have inspired people across borders and different faiths, making him one of the most beloved poets around the world. He has amassed a celebrity following including Brad Pitt, Chris Martin, Beyoncé, and Jay Z who are drawn to his eternal message of peace and transformation. Other singers of Rumi's poetry mentioned in the conversation: Homayun Shajarian | Mohammad-Reza Shajarian | Shahram Nazeri | Parisa Haleh Liza Gafori is a translator, vocalist, poet, and composer born in New York City of Persian descent. Her book of translations, "Gold: Poems by Rumi", was published by New York Review Books in 2022. Supported by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, Gafori has created a musical, cross-media performance piece based on the book, weaving translations, original text, and compositions sung in Persian and English which she debuted at the New York Public Library. Shahzad Ismaily is a Brooklyn-based musician, composer, and engineer who founded Figure 8 Recording. Often referred to as the “musician’s favorite musician”, he has collaborated with many avant-garde artists and composers including Laurie Anderson, Anthony Coleman, and Marc Ribot. WMI presented Love In Exile, his collaboration with Arooj Aftab and Vijay Iyer based on their Grammy Award-nominated album, at Town Hall in 2023. More about Haleh Liza Gafori - https://www.halehliza.com More about Shahzad Ismaily and Figure 8 Recording - https://www.figure8recording.com Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Clarinetist Oran Etkin and Brazilian Pianist Benjamin Taubkin
Send us Fan Mail Grammy Award-winning Israeli-born composer, clarinetist, and educator Oran Etkin and Brazilian pianist, arranger, composer, and producer Benjamin Taubkin came together to discuss their passion for and commitment to engaging in a musical dialogue with artists from other cultures to build bridges between people around the globe. They shared music and chatted about working together on Oran's innovative project Open Arms which will be released in January 2024. More about Oran Etkin and the Open Arms Project Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Iranian Composer, Vocalist, and Kamancheh Master Mehrnam Rastegari
Send us Fan Mail Mehrnam Rastegari is an award-winning score composer, singer, and master kamancheh player. Originally born in Iran, she now lives in NYC. For this WMI Plus At Home session, she is joined in conversation with her friend and fellow composer and kamancheh player Niloufar Shiri. Mehrnam shares music and the two artists discuss their instruments and personal musical journeys, as well as the challenges facing women musicians in Iran today. Mehrnam also joined us for a FolkTales session. More about Mehrnam Rastegari Link to FolkTales session "Parinaz and the Golden Lamp" Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Dominican Guitarist Yasser Tejeda with Journalist Ed Morales
Send us Fan Mail Yasser Tejeda, an award-winning Dominican composer, guitarist, vocalist, and producer, shares music and talks with author and journalist Ed Morales about his third album La Madrugada (Daybreak), the African roots of Dominican traditions, the influences of life in NYC on his music, and the message behind his single "Tu Eres Bonita". More about Yasser Tejeda Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Brazilian Cellist Dom La Nena with Catalina Maria Johnson
Send us Fan Mail Multi-lingual composer, vocalist, and cellist Dom La Nena joins journalist Catalina Maria Johnson ( Beat Latino ) for a special WMI Plus At Home conversation from Dom's home in Paris. She performs songs from her critically-acclaimed solo album Tempo (Six Degrees Records) and shares stories about her unique career path that took her from her home in Brazil to Argentina and France, as well as the distinct melodies of the three languages - Portuguese, Spanish, and French - that she uses in her music. More about Dom La Nena WMI Plus At Home experiences are supported by a grant from Con Edison and world music lovers like you. We thank you! Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango
Send us Fan Mail This special WMI Plus At Home Session commemorates Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day. Join members of the Payadora Tango Ensemble and Lenka Lichtenberg with journalist/music producer Dan Rosenberg as they present stories and music from Silent Tears: the Last Yiddish Tango (Six Degrees Records), a project based on poems, testimonies, and writings of women who were subjected to sexual violence and torture during the Holocaust. Some songs are from a project led by Dr. Paula David, a social worker at a Toronto Jewish care home who helped survivors to process their trauma by writing collective poetry. Others are from Molly Applebaum, a Toronto-based author, who, during her adolescent years, was buried underground in a small wooden box in a barn in Poland during the war. More about Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango WMI Plus At Home experiences are supported by a grant from Con Edison and world music lovers like you. We thank you! Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Changüí - The Music of Guantánamo w/ Arturo O'Farrill and Gianluca Tramontana
Send us Fan Mail Music producer and journalist Gianluca Tramontana joins Grammy Award-winning composer, pianist, educator, and founder of the Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance Arturo O'Farrill , for an exploration of changüí - a rarely documented roots music from the Guantánamo region of Cuba, where Tramontana spent several months capturing the music of the changüiseros. Those recordings have been released in a critically-acclaimed collection on Petaluma Records: https://www.petalumarecords.com Changüí The Music Of Guantánamo Official Trailer More about Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance WMI Plus At Home experiences are supported by a grant from Con Edison and world music lovers like you. We thank you! Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Composer, Percussionist, and Author Adam Rudolph with Journalist Piotr Orlav
Send us Fan Mail Adam and journalist Piotr Orlov chat about Adam's many collaborations with artists including Don Cherry, Hassan Hakmoun, Dave Liebman, and Yusuuf Lateef that were part of the WMI legacy series of the late 1980s / early 1990s called 'Improvisations'. At the time of the recording, Adam was in the process of rebooting that influential series for our 2022-2023 Season launch event with SummerStage in Central Park on Sep 10 featuring some of the original artists from the series along with members of the next generation of improvisational artists. More about Adam Rudolph WMI PLUS At Home episodes are supported by a grant from Con Edison and world music lovers like you. We thank you! Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Tibetan Artist Yungchen Lhamo and Jamshied Sharifi
Send us Fan Mail Award-winning Tibetan singer/songwriter Yungchen Lhamo joins her friend Tony Award winner and record producer Jamshied Sharifi to share her beautiful voice along with a conversation about her unusual journey from Tibetan to Australia and the US, fulfilling her commitment to serving others through sound healing, and her collaborations with artists including Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Natalie Merchant, and Peter Rowan. More about Yungchen Lhamo WMI PLUS At Home episodes are supported by a grant from Con Edison and world music lovers like you. We thank you! Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
Lokua Kanza with Banning Eyre (Afropop Wordwide)
Send us Fan Mail Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist Lokua Kanza sat down with Banning Eyre (Afropop Worldwide, NPR) to share music and talk about his work as a UNICEF ambassador, developing his unique musical style mixing his conservatory training with Congolese rumba, and the process of recording his first album in 11 years entitled Moko , meaning “one” in Lingala, which involved 100 musicians and 20 recording studios across 12 countries on 5 continents. WMI PLUS At Home episodes are supported by a grant from Con Edison and world music lovers like you. We thank you! Support the show Stay in touch with us! Join our newsletter
