Mission
The mission of Compass World Arts is to promote understanding and respect through the exchange of music and arts. We believe in the power of music and arts to connect people, build communities, and promote personal growth. By sharing our skills and our cultures with each other, we are not only introduced to new worlds of information, we also become aware of the common values that link people across national borders.
Vision
Compass World Arts presents holistic music and arts education programs in a range of international locations. With world-class faculty hailing from such diverse backgrounds as the Middle East, China and the United States, the camps aim to introduce students to a range of world music and arts, thereby encouraging interaction and exchange among cultures. We strive to create a nourishing environment that balances intense learning with opportunities for reflection and growth, within a supportive, close-knit community.
Hadi Eldebek
Hadi Eldebek is an innovative oudist and composer based in New York City. He joins dynamic collectives of musicians in performing Arabic music from contemporary and multi-ethnic perspectives; African, Chinese, Greek, Indian, Iranian, Japanese, Turkish, and more.
In 2009, Hadi began his collaboration with Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road project as a Teaching Artist for the Silk Road Connect, an approach to teaching that targets upper elementary and middle school students in low-resourced communities, where students are least likely to have access to the transformative power of the arts. From there, in 2010, he joined the Silk Road Ensemble as a performing member, and later as a composer.
Over the last two years, Hadi has participated as faculty in the Harvard Graduate School of Education workshop, Arts and Passion-Driven Learning, leading workshops entitled Traditions of the Middle East (2014) and Percussive Poetry (2013).
Kate Smith
Kate Smith is a classically trained singer from the United States. She attended Columbia University where she earned a BA in East Asian Studies and Film, after which she worked as a creative producer, educator and performer in New York and Beijing. She has produced corporate film and videos for clients including Volkswagen, Alcom, and the French Development Agency. In New York, she taught SAT prep in underprivileged high schools, promoted the United Nations among teenaged youth, and was an administrator of the International Vocal Arts Workshop in Croatia.
In addition to her work in film, Kate’s performance experience spans cabaret, street theater, puppetry, American folk and country music. Fluent in Chinese, Kate lived in Beijing for over six years, where she was an active force in the city’s music scene; she was a forerunner in bringing cabaret to China with her inter-disciplinary works of music theater built around Weimar and Shanghai culture in the 1930s, as well as through her collaborations with Moonglow Burlesque. She is currently earning her Masters in Classical Voice at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
Kirk Kenney
Kirk Kenney is an eclectic musician who studied Mandarin at Bennington College before moving to Beijing full time to teach and perform. As a leader in the Americana scene, he performs solo shows and runs community square dance events with his bands, the Hutong Yellow Weasels, and Sourpuss, as well as with other local and international musicians; his regular Beijing venues include Jianghu, Modernista, Mako Livehouse, DDC and the Bookworm. Kirk has organized and taken part in music festivals in Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou, and been involved in workshops for university students at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Xi’an Normal University and Xi’an International University. He has toured and performed in over a dozen cities around China, including with American fiddler and square dance caller, Michael Ismerio.
Cooperating with Ping Pong Productions, Kirk has also managed and coordinated tours around China for prominent musicians, as well as for the China screenings of the film, Gideon’s Army, a recipient of grants from The US Department of State, and the Ford Foundation. He has collaborated with Pojie Arts and Handicapped International to promote awareness of people with disabilities through dance. When he’s not getting on a plane, he’s teaching violin and guitar to students in Beijing, and managing the local musicians group, the Beijing Pickers.
