Hadi Eldebek (Arabic Oud)
Hadi Eldebek is an innovative, contemporary Oud player, singer, and composer based in New York City. Eldebek attended the Lebanese National Conservatory before moving to New York in 2005 to continue his studies with Oud and Violin master Simon Shaheen.
In 2009, Hadi began his collaboration with Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road project as a Teaching Artist for the Silk Road Connect. From there, in 2010, he joined the Silk Road Ensemble as a performing member and later as a composer.
In August 2014, Hadi was invited for the second time to participate as faculty in the Harvard Graduate School of Education workshop, Arts and Passion-Drive Learning. The workshops he co-led were Traditions of the Middle East (2014) and Percussive Poetry (2013).
In June 2015, Hadi participated as faculty in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silkroad 1st Global Musician Workshop at DePauw University, Indiana. In March 2015, Hadi received a full scholarship as artist-in-residence at the World Music Persian-Indian-Arabic Workshop at the Banff Center in Canada.
Jiawang Cao (Chinese Erhu)
Jiawang Cao, an erhu performer, earned her MFA Degree from Xinghai Conservatory of Music. As a traditional musician, she has been invited specially to perform with the Macau Chinese Orchestra, Guangdong Chinese Orchestra, Cantonese Opera Academy, to name a few.
Jiawang is fond of many music genres, including Canton Music, Jazz, electronic, and modern music. She has been highly praised by the American Consulate for cooperating and improvising with “Treme Brass Band”, “The Campbell Brothers”, and “Wylie and Wild West”. She is also a well known performer with American National Public Radio's "America Routes" and “Meeting in Beijing” Art Festival.
At present she is a Vice Director of the Cantonese Music Union and a huqin performer in the music group “Yue Ren Hui”. She is a chief commentator specializing in writing comments for special music column "Siyin Essay".
Link: Erhu Performance
Kate Smith (American Folk)
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.
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.
Kate first became interested in music camps when she attended the International Vocal Arts Workshop in Groznjan, Croatia, eventually becoming assistant administrator in 2009 and 2010. She has since taught workshops on American traditional music in Beijing and at Dali University. She is currently earning her Masters in Voice and Leadership at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
Link: Songs from the Labyrinth
Kirk Kenney (American Folk)
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.
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.
Mohammad Eldebek (Arabic Percussion)
Mohamad Eldebek is a versatile percussionist based in New York city. He has performed with the New York Arabic Orchestra conducted by Lebanese composer and virtuoso, Bassam Saba.
He has also performed as a dancer of Dabkeh and Middle-Eastern folk music under the instruction of world dancer Ramzi Edelbi. Mr. Eldebek has performed internationally in numerous venues including Symphony Space, Drom, NY Museum of Transit, Beirut Bobo, and other. In the summer of 2014, Eldebek’s musical adventures brought him to tour in China with a group of innovative musicians.
He has held workshops on Arab music and rhythm at many institutions and schools across the United States. A native of Lebanon, he resides in New York City. Currently, he is a member of the Brooklyn Nomads Band.
In addition to his musical life, Mr. Eldebek has a masters degree in Neuroscience and is interested in the effect of music on the brain.
Ramzi Edlibi (World dance and percussion)
Ramzi Edlibi (World dance and percussion)
Ramzi El- Edlibi started his career in Lebanon where he danced around the world with various prestigious artists and organizations, such as Marwan and Wadia Garrar, Carrakalla dance Co, Feiruz, Sabah, Nasri Shams-eldin and many others.
Since coming to the US, Ramzi has expanded into the art of world dance, studying Flamenco, Classical Ballet, Indian and many other types of dance. At the present moment, Ramzi El-Edlibi is the Artistic Director and Performer of Dance Around the World.
Ramzi also incorporates percussion and dance into projects presenting traditional Arabic music and dance. Ramzi is also a master drummer who has performed with leading musicians of Arabic music in the USA, Europe and the Middle East.
Currently, Ramzi El-Edlibi is writing a book about Arabic poly-rhythms from Morocco and Maghreb, to the Gulf and the Levant.