Silkroad Announces Continuation of Global Musician Workshop and Expansion of Program to Hangzhou, China

GMW Boston at New England Conservatory | August 4-10, 2024
GMW Hangzhou at Zhejiang Conservatory | August 26-31, 2024

The week-long programs will welcome students from around the world to participate in workshops and concerts with Silkroad artists, conservatory faculty, and special guests

Boston, MA — Silkroad announces the continuation of its Global Musician Workshop (GMW) in the summer of 2024, including the first-ever international iteration of the program in Hangzhou, China presented in partnership with Zhejiang Conservatory of Music. For the fourth consecutive year, Silkroad also partners with New England Conservatory for the Boston-based GMW. The Boston program takes place August 4-10 and the Hangzhou program from August 26-31. The 2024 programs in both cities include professional development workshops and a multi-night Performance Festival featuring Silkroad artists, conservatory faculty, special guests, and GMW participants. Performances are open to the public; details are available at silkroad.org/gmw.

GMW Boston received the largest number of applicants in the program’s history, welcoming 68 musicians selected from a pool of 218 applicants. Participants represent 28 countries and 32 instruments—more than in any previous year. Tuition to participate in GMW Boston is underwritten by Silkroad, and the program is directed by Silkroad cellist Mike Block.

"For our eighth year of GMW Boston, we received a record number of applications from a record number of countries,” said Block. “It’s truly a stunning experience for me to sift through the applications, learn about all of these amazing musicians, and watch videos of their diverse musical gifts. When the faculty and participants finally get to play together in-person this August, the experience will be transformational. Music is an incredible tool to learn about the world around us and feel connected to other people from different backgrounds. Our collaborative process and creative explorations also provide a mirror for our participants to learn more about who they are, both as people and as artists. Understanding ourselves better, and how we can contribute to the world around us, is a core element of the GMW experience.”

Silkroad pipa player Wu Man, who has served on the GMW faculty since its inception and also teaches at Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, spearheaded the launch of GMW Hangzhou. The partnership with Zhejiang Conservatory was made official last month at the 14th Annual United States-China Tourism Leadership Summit in Xi’An, where Silkroad Executive Director Ben Hartley and Board of Directors Chair Boris Dolgonos signed a three-year MoU in the presence of government, culture, and tourism leaders from China and the U.S. The Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in New York has also provided assistance in the process. Their combined efforts and generous support are allowing Silkroad to expand GMW beyond the United States for the first time since its start in 2015.

Wu Man shared, “I am excited that, this summer, we have a new partnership with Zhejiang Conservatory of Music and will present a Global Musician Workshop in my home country China in addition to Boston. Every year, I look forward to working with the talented musicians from around the globe who come together to exchange their cultural and musical traditions. My hope is that through classes, talks, collaboration, and performance, they will make meaningful connections and have a deeper appreciation and understanding of all the world's musical styles.”

Like in Boston, the program in Hangzhou is open to participants from around the globe; workshops and sessions will be held in English with Chinese translators on site. For this pilot year, 30 participants from three different countries were selected from a pool of 66 applicants representing 11 countries. GMW Hangzhou is co-directed by Wu Man and Block.

The faculty leading a varied set of sessions at GMW Boston—in addition to Block and Wu Man—includes Silkroad artists Edward Pérez and Balla Kouyaté and guest artists Jamey Haddad, Courtney Hartman, Abeer Nehme, and Kala Ramnath. The GMW Hangzhou faculty includes Block, Wu Man, Dong-Won Kim, Bivakar Choudhury, Pérez, and Ricardo Vogt. This group of all-star faculty artists represents a wide range of cultural backgrounds and musical traditions.

Participants in both GMW Boston and GMW Hangzhou will take part in faculty-led repertoire and arranging workshops; elective classes covering techniques, concepts, and styles of genres from around the globe; nightly jam sessions and open mic nights; and community-building activities. All sessions will focus on music-making through cross-cultural collaboration, modeling the philosophy that inspired the creation of the Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble.

In addition to their professional development work, participants will give public performances as part of the GMW Performance Festival, taking place August 6-10 in Boston and August 27 and 30-31 in Hangzhou. In Boston, the Festival comprises an opening concert by GMW faculty on August 6, followed by daily concerts from August 7-10 featuring the program’s participants alongside faculty members. All GMW Boston performances take place at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall. In Hangzhou, the opening concert by GMW faculty takes place on August 27, with subsequent participant concerts on August 30 and 31. All GMW Hangzhou performances will be held at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music’s Standard Concert Hall.

For more information about the 2024 Global Musician Workshop programs and Performance Festival concerts in Boston and Hangzhou, please visit silkroad.org/gmw.


SILKROAD'S 2024 GLOBAL MUSICIAN WORKSHOP - ROSTER & SCHEDULE

GMW Boston: Hosted in Partnership with New England Conservatory
Sunday, August 4-Saturday, August 10
New England Conservatory’s Campus (not open to the public)

GMW Boston Faculty
Mike Block, GMW Boston Director/Silkroad Artist & NEC Faculty/multi-style cello
Wu Man, Silkroad Artist/pipa
Jamey Haddad, Guest Artist/percussion
Courtney Hartman, Guest Artist/guitar
Balla Kouyaté, Silkroad Artist/NEC Faculty/balafon
Abeer Nehme, Guest Artist/voice
Edward Pérez, Silkroad Artist/bass
Marcus Printup, Guest Artist/trumpet
Kala Ramnath, Guest Artist/Indian Hindustani violin

GMW Boston Performance Festival
Tuesday, August 6-Saturday, August 10 at 8 p.m. EDT nightly
New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall
Tickets: $25 Faculty Concert, $15 Participant Concerts, $50 All-Inclusive Five-Day Pass

See the names, instruments, and country of origin for all GMW Boston participants.


GMW Hangzhou: Hosted in Partnership with Zhejiang Conservatory of Music (ZJCM)
Monday, August 26-Saturday, August 31
Zhejiang Conservatory’s Campus (not open to the public)

GMW Hangzhou Faculty
Mike Block, GMW Hangzhou Co-Director/Silkroad Artist/multi-style cello
Wu Man, GMW Hangzhou Co-Director/Silkroad Artist & ZJCM Faculty/pipa
Dong-Won Kim, Guest Artist/Korean traditional percussion
Bivakar Choudhury, Guest Artist/tabla
Edward Pérez, Silkroad Artist/bass
Ricardo Vogt, Guest Artist/guitar

GMW Hangzhou Performance Festival
Tuesday, August 27 at 7:30 p.m. CST
Friday, August 30 at 7:30 p.m. CST
Saturday, August 31 at 3 p.m. CST
Zhejiang Conservatory of Music’s Standard Concert Hall


2024 GMW Funding Credits
Support for GMW Boston is provided, in part, by the Barr Foundation, the Boston Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, ProtoStar Foundation, and The 'Quin Impact Fund.

Support for GMW Hangzhou is provided, in part, by Ophelia Dahl, Lori Samuels, Zhang Financial, LLC, and the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music.

Silkroad gratefully acknowledges their generosity in sponsoring creative development, musical training, and cross-cultural understanding through the arts.

About New England Conservatory
New England Conservatory (NEC) was established by Eben Tourjée in Boston, Massachusetts in 1867, and is an exemplary music school that blends European traditions with American innovation. As an independent conservatory at the heart of Boston's vibrant cultural heritage and music scene, NEC showcases a variety of concerts at the prestigious Jordan Hall on Huntington Avenue, which is widely known as Boston's Avenue of the Arts. NEC, a non-profit educational institution, offers musical education and training to students of all ages, cultivating a dynamic, diverse community of music students from over 40 countries. With 225 internationally respected artist-teachers and scholars, NEC provides high-quality training and performance opportunities. NEC believes in harnessing profound artistry, bold creativity, and deep compassion to enhance the impact of musicians in promoting shared humanity. It also empowers students to meet the challenges of the changing world, equipped with the tools and confidence to lead multidimensional lives of artistic relevance and depth. NEC advances the boundaries of music-making and teaching, offering college-level training in classical, jazz, and contemporary improvisation. Additionally, NEC provides unique interdisciplinary programs like Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Performances & Partnerships, which empower students to create their own musical opportunities. As part of its commitment to making lifelong music education available to all, the Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education provide training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, and adults.

To learn more about NEC, please visit necmusic.edu and @necmusic on social media.

About Zhejiang Conservatory of Music
Zhejiang Conservatory of Music (ZJCM) is a public full-time art university with the approved registration from the Ministry of Education of PRC. ZJCM was established by the People's Government of Zhejiang Province, and is co-sponsored by the provincial government and Department of Culture & Tourism of PRC.

The conservatory is situated in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province in east China. ZJCM boasts beautiful scenery and well-equipped facilities. Its campus covers an area of 100 acres with a total floorage of 360,000 square meters. ZJCM possesses 1 grand theater, 3 concerts, 3 theaters, 2 studio halls, 104 rehearsal halls, 935 piano rooms, 8 recording studios, 1 library, and other teaching aids and art practice venues.

ZJCM offers eight learning majors, houses 12 academic departments, and boasts provincial and ministerial-level research institutions and high-level practice ensembles. ZJCM is also home to the Editorial Board of the journal Music Culture Studies. Oriented for an international conservatory, ZJCM has signed strategic cooperation agreements with over 30 internationally prestigious institutions and has established the China-CEEC Music Academies Union for deeper international exchanges and cooperation. ZJCM has been approved by the Ministry of Education to set up independent art majors by following the set art standards and to enroll students nationwide. Currently, the conservatory has over 2,800 undergraduate students and over 600 graduate students. It is staffed with over 650 faculty members, including over 430 full-time teachers.

ZJCM is committed to artistic excellence as a premier music education institution and strives to engage with the global community and build a strong bond with conservatories, arts organizations, institutions and businesses across the world.

To learn more about ZJCM, please visit english.zjcm.edu.cn.

About Silkroad
Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998, recognizing the historical Silk Road as a model for cultural collaboration—for the exchange of ideas, tradition, and innovation across borders. In a groundbreaking experiment, he brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road to co-create a musical language founded in difference, thus creating the foundation of Silkroad: both a touring ensemble comprised of world-class musicians from all over the globe and a Boston-based non-profit organization working to make a positive impact across borders through the arts.

Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens and Executive Director Ben Hartley, Silkroad leads social impact initiatives and educational programming alongside the creation of new music by the Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble.

To learn more, please visit silkroad.org and @silkroadproject on social media.

 ###