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The North Shore Music Association welcomes COMPAS Teaching Artists Orkestar Bez Ime on March 24, to usher in spring on the north shore with exhilarating music and cultural learning.
For the past two decades, Orkestar Bez Ime (“band without a name”) has shared Balkan and Romany music, culture, dance, and history with audiences and classrooms across the U.S. Inspired by the belief that music is the universal language, the ensemble shares what they learned about the Romany people while living and studying with them in Serbia in 2012. By sharing the richness of Balkan and Romany music and culture, their goal is to replace the stereotype of the “Gypsy.”
Orkestar Bez Ime has been coached in Bulgarian music by Nikolay Gueorguiev and Nikola Nikolov, and in Romany (“Gypsy”) music by Dragan Ristic, Sinan Acifovic, and Boris Kostic. The band is the recipient Orkestar Bez Ime of a 2011–2012 McKnight Artist Fellowship and a 2012 Minnesota Emerging Composers Award.
On March 24 at the Grand Marais Public Library (104 W 2nd Ave.), Orkestar Bez Ime will present “An Introduction to Balkan Music,” a whirlwind tour of the Balkan Peninsula, for all ages. This interactive performance of vibrant folk music from Bosnia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia will highlight the Romany (“Gypsy”) people of the region. The 10:30 a.m. program is free and open to the public.
That evening at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts (51 W 5th St.), Orkestar Bez Ime will offer a feast of Balkan and Romany music for all ages, beginning at 7:00 pm. Tickets are for sale in advance at northshoremusicassociation.com and will be available at the door starting at 6:00 p.m. General admission is $20 adults, $10 youth 8 and under. Masks are encouraged but not required at this event.
This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
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