BENEFIT FOR
TSUNAMI RELIEF

Press Materials

Press Photos:

Click the thumbnails to download hi-res photos:

Kitka
photo: Sherry Rayn Barnett

Nina Gerber and Linda Tillery

Judith-Kate Friedman
photo: Gary Wagner

Riffat Sultana

Bill Cauley
photo: Gary Wagner

Avotcja

Poster thumbnail:

Download posters (updated 2005-01-13 3am):

poster, 8.5 x 11 inch hi-resolution PDF for printing.

large poster, 11 x 17 inch hi-resolution PDF for printing.

postcard, 4.5 x 5.5 inch hi-resolution PDF for printing.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 10, 2005
Contact:
Songwriting Works
Judith-Kate Friedman 510/710-4878
Shira Cion  510/444-0323

BAY AREA WORLD MUSIC and SPOKEN WORD ARTISTS perform
in TSUNAMI RELIEF BENEFIT concert January 20th
at BERKELEY’s Julia Morgan Center for the Arts

Nearly two dozen world music and spoken word artists will join together on Thursday night, January 20th to raise funds for Tsunami Relief organizations serving South Asia and East Africa. The benefit will take place at 8pm at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Avenue near Derby St. in Berkeley.  The venue is wheelchair accessible. Suggested donation for the benefit is $25./more if you can. Proceeds will benefit the Sri Lankan Children’s Fund, Seva’s South Asia Emergency Fund and the International Medical Corps.

Tickets will be available at the door, and in advance at: Siamese Dream (3180 College Ave. Berkeley), Global Exchange (2840 College Ave. Berkeley), and Bansuri's Spring Gallery, (3929 Piedmont Ave., Oakland).  Tickets can also be purchased via phone by calling Community Box Office at: (925) 798-1300. For further information about the beneficiary organizations and for links to the artists’ websites and sound/video clips, please visit: www.kitka.org/tsunamiaid

Performers include Kitka: women’s vocal ensemble, guitarist Nina Gerber and vocalist Linda Tillery, Word & Violin: Sri Lankan poet Pireeni Sundaralingam and violinist Colm O’ Riain, Qawalli vocalist Riffat Sultana & Party, poet/percussionist Avotcja, and singer/songwriter Judith-Kate Friedman with percussionist Billy Cauley and bassist Dave Berzonsky.   Radio host and SF World Music Festival producer Kutay Derin Kugay will MC.

Funds raised will benefit the newly formed Sri Lanka Children’s Fund, Seva’s South Asia Emergency Fund, and tsunami relief efforts of the International Medical Corps.
The Sri Lanka Children's Fund is a new fund set up by Bay Area Sri Lankans under the aegis of the The Women's Foundation of California.  Aid from this fund will be used to support the efforts of a number of very effective organizations on the ground in Sri Lanka with particular emphasis on helping women and orphaned children.

The Seva South Asia Emergency Fund is the tsunami relief response of Seva, the Bay Area based international health organization which has been working in South Asia (Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand and Indonesia) for more than twenty-five years  Seva’s initial South Asia Tsunami aid efforts are underway in Sri Lanka where they are working with IMPACT to set up five “health camps” in the worst affected regions where most hospitals and health centers have been destroyed or washed away.  Seva is assessing the situation in Tamil Nadu, India and in Sumatra where they will next be expanding relief efforts. See www.seva.org

The International Medical Corps is focusing relief efforts in the area of Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra, closest to the epicenter of the December 26th quake under the Indian Ocean. A team of twenty-five trauma-specialist physicians and nurses airlifted aid and began serving the region on January 7, 2005. The IMC, which has ongoing relief efforts in communities in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Somalia, is stepping up aid efforts in Sri Lanka’s war torn eastern regions, as well as address the longer term issue of rebuilding the area’s health care capacity, working in conjunction with local care providers to serve these tsunami-stricken communities. They are also assessing the degree of tsunami-related devastation and need for relief measures in Somalia and Africa’s East Coast. www.imcworldwide.org

This benefit is presented by Berkeley-based Songwriting Works in association with the San Francisco World Music Festival, Oakland-based Bansuri and Berkeley’s Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. “All the artists and partnering organizations feel a strong need to contribute,” said Judith-Kate Friedman, founding director of Songwriting Works. “The magnitude of loss of life and the awesome power of nature are so tremendous; We’re keenly aware of how fortunate we are here. There’s a great welling up of generosity and love. Many of us are working together for the first time. We’re uniting to express our reverence for life, and the interconnectedness of all peoples in the world by doing what we do best: bringing communities together through words and music, and helping share the wealth of our country with those in most intense need in South Asia and East Africa.”

About the Performers:

KITKA: Women’s Vocal Ensemble
Now approaching its 25th Anniversary season, Kitka has earned international renown for its artistry, versatility, and mastery of the demanding techniques of Balkan and Slavic vocal styling, bringing stunning dissonances, asymmetric rhythms, intricate ornamentation, lush harmonies, and resonant strength of Eastern European women’s vocal music to a wide audience. Under the co-direction of long-time ensemble members Shira Cion, Juliana Graffagna, and Janet Kutulas since 1997, Kitka has come to be recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, National Public Radio, and Chorus America as one of this country’s premier vocal ensembles. In addition, many Eastern European musical authorities consider Kitka the foremost interpreter of Balkan and Slavic Choral repertoire working in the United States. In June of 2002, Kitka performed as "international guests of honor" at the 50th Anniversary Jubilee concert of the world-renowned Bulgarian Women’s Choir Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares at the Bulgarian National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria.  Kitka’s latest releases are the CD WinterSongs and the long-awaited Wintersongs Songbook.

“KITKA’s songs are hauntingly beautiful, simple, yet otherworldly. The rich sound these women produce resonates as if energized by the universe itself, as if it were calling all live beings and still matter into togetherness and unity.” -- Ching Chang, SAN FRANCISCO BAY TIMES

NINA GERBER and LINDA TILLERY
Veteran performers with a combined total of 60 years experience in the music business, Nina Gerber and Linda Tillery have joined forces to create a unique and exciting, musical presentation. Their repertoire ranges from folk to blues to r&b to reggae to 60’s rock standards  and Spirituals – all re-worked in a sensual and provocative way, that showcases the undeniable artistry of these two fine musicians. Both are skilled as soloists and as side musicians bringing the best of both worlds to the stage. And when they hit the stage, it really rocks!!

Nina Gerber has a unique ability to completely free herself within an eclectic range of styles. Her guitar leads, whether folk, country, bluegrass, rock, or blues, embody a rare reverence for the true feeling of a song, always emphasizing taste over technical display.  Nina seeks to express through her hands, rather than gain attention, and it is this integrity that makes her expressions so worthy of intent listening. From her days as accompanist for Kate Wolf to the present, Nina’s contributions to acoustic music have earned her a loyal following for her acute skills as performer, producer and arranger - proving the shadows equal to the spotlight in the creation of honest, powerful, and beautiful music. She has worked with folk music’s finest performers, proving with her guitar that some of the truest and most emotional communication requires no words. Still, when combined with the voice of another musician of heart, the result is affecting in an unforgettable way.

Linda Tillery is a veteran vocalist, percussionist, producer and cultural historian whose career has spanned 34 years. Her powerful, shimmering alto voice has been showcased in such groups as the Loading Zone, Bobby McFerrin's Voicestra, Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra, the Solid Sender's and Coke Escovedo’s Latin Funk Ensemble. A native San Franciscan, Linda has Texas soul, rooted in the music she heard as a child  - music her parents, uncles and aunts brought with them from places like Bryant, Chilton, Cameron and Wichita Falls. These Texas expatriates anchored her earliest memories in an older musical tradition when the contemporary sound pronounced it old-fashioned. Whether as vocalist, percussionist or producer, Tillery has performed on more than 100 recordings by and with such artists as the Whispers, Boz Skaggs,Turtle Island String Quartet, Santana, Huey Lewis and the News, Jennifer Berezan, Hans Theessink, Eric Bibb, Taj Mahal, Kelly Joe Phelps, Keola Beamer, Bobby McFerrin, Wilson Pickett, Odetta, Tracy Nelson and many more.

RIFFAT SULTANA & PARTY
Riffat Sultana is the first woman from her family’s musical lineage to publicly perform in the West. She is the daughter of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, who was universally recognized and acclaimed as the finest Pakistani Classical singer of his time. Riffat’s family represents a 500-year lineage of musicians hailing from the Sham Chaurasi Gharana school of music. Riffat currently performs in a wide variety of musical configurations including her world-trance band SHABAZ . Her vocals have been recorded for numerous labels including Ark 21/Universal, Triloka/Mercury, Hearts of Space, City of Tribes, 6 Degrees and XDot25. She has worked with producers Narada Michael Walden and Miles Copeland. Riffat frequently performs with her trio, “Riffat Sultana and Party”, accompanied by Shiraz Ali Khan on 12 string guitar and Ferhan Najeeb Qureshi on tabla. Shiraz, Riffat’s husband, is also a student of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. Ferhan is a disciple of Ustad Tari Khan, one of the finest Tabla players performing today. The group performs a wide variety of traditional and modern material thrilling audiences of all types..

AVOTCJA is a poet/spoken word artist, multi-instrumentalist, radio producer, dj, playwright, photographer, and music catalyst. Her poems have been published in English & Spanish in the USA, Mexico & Europe, recorded by Piri Thomas, and performed by SF’s Purple Moon Dance project, LA’s Bobby Matos Heritage Ensemble, and NY’s Dance Mobile. She has perfomed at the Lorraine Hansberry Theater (SF), Yoshi’s (Oakland), Club le Monmartre (Copenhagen, Denmark), New York’s Henry Street Settlement Theater, and San Francisco’s Brava Theater/Cine Accion, and the Afro Solo festival.  Avotcja currently works solo and with her ground-breaking Afro-Asian Jazz ensemble Modupue (Gratitude): the United Nations of Sound. As a concert producer and disc jockey on San Francisco’s community radio stations KPOO-FM and KPFA-FM, she is known as a tireless champion of Jazz, World, Folk, and Fusion artists, especially for those who create art in service to community. She is a proud & active member of DAMO (Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization) & The National Writers Union.

WORD & VIOLIN: PIREENI SUNDARALINGAM and COLM Ó RIAIN
Born in Sri Lanka, poet Pireeni Sundaralingam was recently named as “one of America’s Emerging writers” by the literary journal Ploughshares and will be featured in the International Museum of Women later this year. Colm O’Riain, a former leader of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, is a violinist and composer. He has written music for film, theater and various musical ensembles including his own band, Hy Brassyl,  drawing on Irish, Indian, Cuban, Brazilian and Gypsy music. Pireeni and Colm have performed together, as WORD & VIOLIN, in venues across the USA and Europe. Their latest album “Bridge Across the Blue” brings together musicians and writers from ethnic communities all over the US to tell the immigrant stories of America.

Judith-Kate Friedman is a songwriter, performer, recording artist, and producer who fuses folk and Jewish roots music, poetry, and social content in her work.  She has headlined shows across the U.S. and abroad and receives radio airplay internationally for her solo CDS, her collaborations with elders, and her recordings with Jewish/World/A cappella ensemble Vocolot (with whom she toured from 1994-2002). She has received awards from the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, numerous national showcases including Kerrville (TX)’s New Folk, and eight California Art Council grants. As founding director of Songwriting Works, Judith-Kate has composed and performed with more than1,800 Bay Area elders and youth. Her publications include articles on music and healing in Signpost (UK), Aging Today (US) and Acoustic Guitar magazine, and “Island on a Hill” the debut CD of elder Singers & Songwriters of the Jewish Home in San Francisco (average age 87), with whom she performs in Nathan Friedkin's documentary  "A 'Specially Wonderful Affair.” The film premiered at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, on PBS' KQED-TV, and at international film festivals in Barcelona, Montreal, and Israel. In 2004 Judith-Kate produced the Art of Aging festival and the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 American Society on Aging /National Council on Aging Conference featuring acoustic music, spoken word, theater, dance, and images by more than fifty performers age five to age ninety.
“Like a one-woman Indigo Girl or Joan Baez....Judith-Kate Friedman has that kind of pure voice and knack for emotional tunes.”  New Orleans Times-Picayune

Billy Cauley is an educator and therapeutic counselor and musician who integrates 40 years experience on stage, recording, radio and video with the transformational tool of expressive arts therapy. He brings a unique spirit to this work with an Ethiopian, Native American and Madagascan ancestry.  He has worked extensively with world-renowned jazz artists, and with dance visionary Anna Halprin, has written songs for motion pictures, and has studied and performed with many master drummers. He has produced, directed and performed in many NPR and PBS specials, has appeared on MTV and VHI. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Billy started into the musical arts as a young child.  He studied music at Oberlin Conservatory, psychology at Harvard University, and did subsequent studies of musical and expressive arts therapy at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado and Tamalpa Institute in California. He currently maintains a private therapeutic and instructional practice in Marin County, California and leads Life Art Skills®, and The Healing Power of Ritual Drumming® workshops in the U.S.A. and Europe. Billy devotes his life to exploring how healing, transformative and fun it is to experience the rhythm of Life.

Dave Berzonsky and Estela Knott are the Latin folkloric group, Lua, performing global creole roots music for la raza nueva.  Their first CD, “La Sirena” was released in 2004.  Recently relocated to the Bay Area from Charlottsville, VA, Dave has played with the son jarocho group Los Cojolites (from the Frida soundtrack), and with sidemen of the great Hermeto Pascaol. He performed with various groups at the 2000 International Festival of Son Jarocho in Jaltipan, Veracruz, Mexico and as a dancer during the 2001 Carnaval in Maracatu Nacao Pernambuco. Dave has also been playing with the Malian griot Cheick Hamala Diabate since 1998. They are currently working on a new recording.

About the Presenting Organizations:
Songwriting Works’ has been bringing elders together with professional songwriters and youth to compose and perform original songs since 1990. Founding director Judith-Kate Friedman will include two songs of faith and peace composed by elder residents of the Jewish Home in San Francisco in her performance at this benefit event. The San Francisco World Music Festival offers Bay Area audiences an annual “chance to hear an astounding array of sounds that escape the usual world beat and global flavor-of-the-month straitjackets.” – SF Bay Guardian.  Bansuri’s Spring Gallery offers an eclectic collection of unique gifts, exotic art, world music, jewelry, scents, cds and event production. The Julia Morgan Center for the Arts seeks to change people’s lives by making art a common experience of everyday life and learning. Kitka woman’s vocal ensemble played a key role in bringing the production team together (see their bio, above).

For more detailed information on all the artists, organizations, and beneficiaries, please go to www.kitka.org/tsunamiaid or phone: Songwriting Works at 510/548-3655.

Kitka: (510) 444.0323, www.kitka.org
Nina Gerber and Linda Tillery: (510) 891-0454 www.culturalheritagechoir.com
Riffat Sultana & Party: www.riffatsultana.com
Avotcja: Avotcja.com, email: Avotcjawordpower@hotmail.com Examples of poetry: www.WritersRegiser.com
Pireeni Sundaralingam and Colm :  http://www.wordandviolin.com
Judith-Kate Friedman and Songwriting Works: )510) 548-3655, www.judithkate.com
www.songwritingworks.org
Billy Cauley: www.ritualdrum.com
Gamelan Sekar Jaya: www.gsj.org
San Francisco World Music Festival: www.sfworldmusicfestival.org
Bansuri: www.bansuri.net
Julia Morgan Center for the Arts: (510) 84-JULIA, www.juliamorgan.org