The Barbara B. Smith World Music Series brings DakhaBrakha to Rochester, Monday, November 20, at 8 p.m., in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music. DahkaBrakha, whose name means “give/take” in the old Ukrainian language, is a world-music quartet from Kyiv, Ukraine.
Reflecting fundamental elements of sound and soul, Ukrainian “ethnic chaos” band DakhaBrakha creates a world of unexpected new music. Accompanied by Indian, Arabic, African, Russian, and Australian traditional instrumentation, the quartet’s astonishingly powerful and uncompromising vocal range creates a trans-national sound rooted in Ukrainian culture.
DakhaBrakha was created in 2004 at the Kyiv Center of Contemporary Art (DAKH) by the avant-garde theatre director Vladyslav Troitskyi. Theatre work has left its mark on the band’s performances — their shows have never been staged without amazing scenic effects, creating a performance beyond just sound and music.
The World Music Series is sponsored by a generous gift from Barbara B. Smith.
Tickets for the DahkaBrakha performance are $19-29, with $10 student tickets available. Tickets can be purchased at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main St.; by phone (585) 274-3000; or online at http://eastmantheatre.org
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About Eastman School of Music:
The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training. The current dean is Jamal Rossi, appointed in 2014.
About 900 students are enrolled in Eastman’s Collegiate Division– about 500 undergraduate and 400 graduate students. Students come from almost every state, and approximately 20 per cent are from other countries. They are guided by more than 95 full-time faculty members. Seven Pulitzer Prize winners have taught at Eastman, as have several Grammy Award winners. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 700 concerts to the Rochester community.