Festival History 2000-2007
As the first festival of its kind in San Francisco, the San Francisco World Music Festival
is where many facets of the world music community unite to present some of the most
interesting music from around the Bay Area and the globe. Musicians, producers, studio
engineers, radio hosts, ethnomusicologists, documentary filmmakers, music industry executives,
etc. gather annually from many disciplines to discuss, perform, and analyze this music in a
global context.
The Eighth San Francisco World Music Festival 2007
The Fall Season of the SAN FRANCISCO WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2007 will celebrate
its Eighth Anniversary with an exciting gathering of some of the most interesting
musicians in the world.
For the past seven years of the festival, the San Francisco World Music Festival has commissioned musicians and artists from different countries to collaborate together to create a new evening-length performance as the centerpiece premiere of the festival. The commissioned centerpiece for 2007, premiering at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco on September 23, is "Here Comes the Sea, Followed by the Ocean", a tribute to Rumi. This man's journey, in metaphor and reality is brought to life in present day, as the historical Rumi was a citizen of all the contemporary world's hot spots: Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Azerbaijan.
This newly commissioned work will present new compositions by Azerbaijani master kamancha musician and composer Imamyar Hasanov. The production also will feature traditional lute masters Azerbaijani tar virtuoso Rufat Hasanov, Chinese pipa master Liu He Cheng, Chinese erhu virtuoso Zhang Xiao Feng, and Iranian percussionist Pejman Hadadi. Lutes from the various countries include the tar, kamancha, pipa, erhu, and tembur accompanied by frame drums. This cross-cultural collaboration is paramount to Rumi's transcendent and universally humanist message and in keeping with Door Dog's mission to create a framework for master artists to meet.
Continuing in our efforts to introduce cultures, music and artists to the larger
community we will present several concerts and community events. On September 25,
we will present in association with the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
Irsaeli-Morrocan singer Smader Levi singing pan-Mediterranean songs
in Arabic, Hebrew and Spanish. On September 26h, there will be an Artist Residency
Program at Alice Fong Yu School featuring Bulgarian tambura master Rumen
Shopov, who will work with the school's Chinese youth ensemble and present
an evening concert to the community. From September 27th-29th, there will be a
series of concerts at the Presidio Chapel focused on lutes of several countries
and cultures, including Techung & Chaksampa Tibetan Opera & Dance
Company on September 27, Indian sarode master Alam Khan
on September 28, Afghani lute master Aziz Herawi on
September 29. The festival will finish on October 7 with an afternoon of North &
South Indian music featuring Indian youth vocalist Gaayatri Kaundinaya
and the Youth Ensemble of Trinity Center for Music at Villa Montalvo
in Saratoga in South Bay.
