Draft:Center for World Music

The Center for World Music is a nonprofit organization founded in 1963 and located in San Diego, California. Its mission is to foster intercultural awareness and understanding through in-depth encounters with the world’s performing arts traditions. It sponsors cultural education and performances of world music and dance, primarily in the San Diego community.

History

In San Francisco

The Center for World Music was originally based in San Francisco and named the American Society for Eastern Arts by founder Samuel H. Scripps and his wife Luise E. Scripps. Originally focused primarily on Asian cultures, the Center began by recruiting teaching artists, the first two being Indian musician Ali Akbar Khan and Indian dancer Balasaraswati. By the mid 1970s, the Center had relocated to Berkeley, California and had 45 artists in residence, many from India and Indonesia. Hundreds of American students trained under these artists in the Bay Area. In 1971, the Center began to offer study abroad programs for its American students. In 1974, the name was changed to the Center for World Music. In 1973, the Center held its Asian and African performing arts workshop at the University of Washington in Seattle. Many notable American artists attended and took inspiration from this event, including Steve Reich, Julie Taymor, Daniel Schmidt, Jody Diamond, and Deena Burton. Teaching artists at the event from Asia and Africa included K. P. H. Notoprojo, Nyi Bei Mardusari, Nyi Supadmi, Irawati Durban Ardjo, Gorō Yamaguchi, Dumisani Maraire, T. Viswanathan.

Subsequent Growth

In 1979, ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown, who originated the term “world music,” brought the Center for World Music to San Diego. There, the Center continued to provide instruction and concerts of music, dance, and theatre from Asia, Latin America, Europe, and North America. It has also partnered with the robust local San Diego Indian, Persian, Hmong, Chicano, and Filipino communities. From 1979 on, the Center has brought 30 teaching artists, hailing from Zimbabwe, Ghana, Senegal, Iran, Peru, and many other countries to teach and perform in San Diego and around the country. In the 1980s, the Center began offering summer programs at Flower Mountain in Payangan, Bali, a retreat center built by Dr. Brown. In 1999, Dr. Brown established the World Music in the Schools program, which has subsequently connected with students at more than 75 San Diego area schools. The Center’s Odissi Dance School also began around this time, and an Access to World Music for Seniors program was launched in 2018, serving low-income residents in senior housing communities. In 2012, the Center produced a 17-day Zimbabwe Music and Dance Celebration, as well as the wide-ranging San Diego Gamelan Festival, a 10-city national Odissi Dance tour, and a world music workshop with the College Music Society for American Music Professors. The Center also publishes articles on various world music instruments and traditions, interviews with artists, and information on events.

In 2013, the Center for World Music celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Notable Programs

World Music in the Schools

In 1999, the Center founded its World Music in the School program, inspired in part by music educator Shinichi Suzuki. Through this program, the Center establishes artist residencies with master artists in local public schools. Notably, the Center collaborated with the Museum School and Canyon Crest Academy to cosponsor the first permanent year-round Balinese and Javanese gamelan programs in K–12 schools in the United States. In 2018–19, the World Music in the Schools program reached over 10,000 students, and had more than 25 teaching artists and 20 ensembles-in-residence involved.

Odissi Dance School

In the 1990s, the Center began offering classes in Odissi dance in collaboration with the Orissa Dance Academy, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The classes are taught by visiting artists from India, including Gangadhar Pradhan, Guru Manoranjan Pradhan, and Yudhisthir Nayak, as well as by the Center’s own Patnaik Sisters. Students in the program perform and engage in outreach to local schools and communities.

Access to World Music for Seniors

In partnership with the RAHD Group, the Center for World Music holds world music events in low-income senior residential communities. Since 2018, the Center has brought Brazilian, Chinese, Mexican, Hawaiian, Appalachian, Gypsy Jazz, and various other world music performances to senior homes.