Carnegie Hall

Haitian songstress Emeline Michel is internationally acclaimed for fusing pop, jazz, blues, and traditional Haitian rhythms into deeply moving, joyful music delivered through charismatic live shows. A master entertainer, Emeline has shared her message with audiences for more than 20 years, including appearances at the United Nations, Montreal’s International Jazz Festival, and MTV’s Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief. Hailed by The New York Times as a “diplomat of music” and “the dancing ambassador with a voice serene and warm like the breeze,” she is now based in New York City, where she was awarded a New York City Council Proclamation for outstanding activism in the community.

Browse Unit: Haitian Song Traditions with Emeline

Singer, songwriter, choreographer, and dancer Sbongiseni “Bongi” Duma has been in the cast of The Lion King on Broadway for more than 12 years. He was nominated for a 2014–2015 Drama Desk Award for “Best Music in a Play” (Generations). He has also worked as a composer, musical director, and choreographer for The Mighty Zulu Nation and Africa Africa. He performs his own music regularly with his band and with Uzalo, a Brooklyn-based music collective. Tshidi Manye, born in Johannesburg, South Africa, made her Broadway debut in The Lion King in 2004 and continues to perform regularly in the role of Rafiki. She has starred in the European and Japanese tours of Sarafina! and has appeared onstage with Paul Simon, David Byrne, and Hugh Masekela.

Browse Unit: South African Zulu with Bongi and Tshidi

Martha Redbone is a vocalist, songwriter, composer, and educator, and a 2021 United States Artist Fellow known for her musical explorations that infuse the folk, blues, and gospel from her childhood in coal country Harlan County, Kentucky with the eclectic grit of pre-gentrified Brooklyn. Inheriting the powerful vocal range of her gospelsinging African American father and the resilient spirit of her mother’s multicultural Southeastern Cherokee and Choctaw heritage, Martha broadens the boundaries of American Roots music through dynamic performances with her band for audiences of all ages for more than 20 years. Her songs and storytelling share her experience as a Native and African American woman and mother in the new millennium and speak to social justice, connecting cultures, and celebrating the human spirit. With longtime collaborator Aaron Whitby, she composes for theater and television. Notable recent work includes the 2022 Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuff, which received the 2020 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play, and her album The Garden of Love: Songs of William Blake, which was praised as “a brilliant collision of cultures” (The New Yorker). For more information, visit martharedbone.com.

Browse Unit: Native American with Martha 

Dr. Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa Nzou Mambano is a Zimbabwean gwenyambira (mbira player), scholar, composer, and singer whose creative practice centers African healing and self-liberation. Dr. Tanyaradzwa’s music is grounded in the ancestral Chivanhu canon taught to her by the generations of svikiro (spirit mediums) and n’anga (healers) in her bloodline. Her internationally performed opera The Dawn of the Rooster tells stories of her family during Zimbabwe’s Chimurenga (Struggle for Liberation) from 1965 to 1980. She is the founder and CEO of MUKA!, an online platform connecting children to African cultures through creativity. She is a former Hodder Fellow at Princeton University and has held artistic residencies at National Sawdust and Castle of Our Skins.

Browse Unit: Zimbabwean Mbira Music with Dr. Tanyaradzwa

The Villalobos Brothers (Ernesto, Alberto, and Luis) have been praised as one of today’s leading contemporary Mexican ensembles. Their original compositions and arrangements masterfully fuse and celebrate the richness of Mexican folk music with the intricate harmonies of jazz and classical music. Earning the 2022 Grammy Award for “Best Latin Jazz Album” for their participation in Arturo O’Farrill’s Fandango at the Wall in New York, the three brothers from Veracruz continue to delight audiences throughout the world. They have appeared at historic venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theater, Davies Symphony Hall, and The Ford Theatres. They have performed at acclaimed festivals including globalFEST 2024, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, and the Montreal Jazz Festival, and at such major events as the United Nations 60th Anniversary, the 66th FIFA Congress in Mexico City, and the opening of the Perelman Performing Arts Center in Manhattan.

Browse Unit: Son Jarocho with the Villalobos Brothers

Singer and guitarist Ilusha Tsinadze was born in Soviet-era Georgia, and at the age of eight, he immigrated with his family to the US, where his musical upbringing consisted of rock and improvised music. After studying jazz in college, he returned to the folk music of his homeland, reimagining Georgian traditional songs on banjo and electric guitar. Based in New York City and collaborating with both American and Georgian artists, Ilusha records and performs music that is a true expression of a contemporary multicultural identity. He has released two albums of original interpretations of Georgian folk music and has performed in renowned venues, including the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.

Browse Unit: Georgian Folk with Ilusha