A Virtual Music Festival for Your Soul
Natále
FirstWorks Celebrates with International & Local Musical Collaborators
Livestreamed to Your Living Room
FIRSTWORKS URBAN CARNEVALE, December 30
Providence, RI – FirstWorks, a Rhode Island non-profit dedicated to building community through world-class arts, announces Urban Carnevale: A Musical Celebration bringing audiences and artists together to end the year with a musical high.
Audience favorites at previous FirstWorks engagements will come together to premiere new works and creative collaborations in a line-up as varied as the festivals FirstWorks is known for producing.
FirstWorks thanks and acknowledges Rhode Island Commerce for the HArT ESR Award which provided support to make this virtual programming possible and to employ dozens of local creatives. Tickets for Urban Carnevale, which will livestream beginning at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 30th, are free and available at
http://first-works.org/tickets/box-office/
The event will be headlined by Wynton Marsalis with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Septet. Known as the best trumpet player of his generation, Marsalis premieres a new composition he has written during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis as a response to the political, social, and economic struggles facing our nation. Other stellar guests include hip-hop/classical duo, Black Violin; tap sensations, Syncopated Ladies; and FirstWorks Artistic Ambassador, Haitian-American violinist composer Daniel Bernard Roumain with Flex’N street dancer Drew Dollaz.
Local luminaries will bring hip-hop, jazz, and global music from Mali, India, and the Caribbean. The event is emceed by Providence’s own Jessica Brown, aka the Lady J – entertainer, activist, artist, and actor extraordinaire. Urban Carnevale is being developed in partnership with Steer Media. The livestreaming begins at 5 p.m. on December 30th and runs for three hours.
Tickets for the virtual revelry are free at
http://first-works.org/tickets/box-office/
with an option to donate and support the local cultural community.
Firsts in the arts will be in abundance at Urban Carnevale, a festival that allows audiences to “experience the arts wherever they are.”
A taste of what’s in-store:
Becky Bass, vocalist and steelpan maestra, debuts a piece written specially for her by world-renowned composer, Daniel Bernard Roumain
Chachi Carvalho, rapper & hip-hop artist who draws on his Cape Verdean roots
Nitin Mitta & Srinivas Reddy, radiant music from the most accomplished tabla player of his generation
Sidy Maiga, master djembefola with Grammy-winner Oumou Sangaré
Daniel Bernard Roumain’s “Our Country” & hip-hop/ballet phenom Drew Dollaz
Roz Raskin, indie pop stalwart
Natále, Israeli-American singer’s musical ode to “The Creative Capital”
Fidel Nadal, Latin Grammy Award nominee and “the Rasta who revolutionized Latin Rock”
“Festivals are in FirstWorks’ DNA,” said FirstWorks Executive Artistic Director, Kathleen Pletcher. “Our hearts are warmed by gathering FirstWorks artists from across the globe and around the corner to infuse our spirits and bid farewell to 2020. Join us! At a time when we cannot travel, we can be transported by the creativity of the arts.”
The 7 p.m. finale, by the legendary Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center Septet, is The Democracy! Suite. The composition aims to entertain, inspire, and uplift audiences with the full vigor, vision, and depth of America’s music.
Building off a partnership FirstWorks launched with Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2013, this marks the return of trumpeter/composer Wynton Marsalis and features seven of jazz’s finest soloists.
Written amidst the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, The Democracy! Suite is a swinging and stimulating instrumental rumination on the issues that have recently dominated our lives as well as the beauty that could emerge from a collective effort to create a better future.
A response to the political, social, and economic struggles facing our nation, the concert’s unique repertoire celebrates jazz’s embodiment of freedom and democracy.
Directly following the concert at 8 p.m., attendees are invited to join FirstWorks for a conversation with Wynton Marsalis to discuss the power of music to affect change and how the worldwide jazz community is activating to join the conversation on civil rights. “The blues teaches you that sometimes things don’t work out,” Marsalis says, “and you have to…use your will to create the change you want to see.”
For a complete list of musical guests, or to learn more information about the event please
We hope you will join us!
About FirstWorks
FirstWorks is a non-profit based in Providence, Rhode Island whose purpose is to build the cultural, educational and economic vitality of its community by engaging diverse audiences with world-class performing arts and education programs. Since 2004,
FirstWorks festivals, performances and programs have attracted more than 600,000 participants. Last season, FirstWorks arts education programs reached over 5,500 students from public and charter schools across Rhode Island with transformative, arts-based learning experiences.
FirstWorks is the founding partner of PVDFest, collaborating with the City of Providence to produce the City’s free signature arts celebration held each June. In 2019 PVDFest drew 130,000 visitors to Providence to experience music, art and spectacular performances.
Embracing collaboration, FirstWorks has fostered over 90 community partnerships across business, social service, government, arts, and education sectors.
Visit
http://first-works.org to learn more
Calendar Listings:
WHO: Urban Carnevale: A Musical Celebration
WHAT: FirstWorks presents a livestream festival to bring artists and audiences together on a musical high to end the year
WHEN: Wednesday, December 30, 2020 beginning at 5 p.m.
WHERE: FirstWorks Virtual Stage (livestream)
TICKETS: Free ($10 suggested donation) – http://first-works.org/tickets/box-office/