blood drum spirit - milestones
1992 – January and March, recording of debut double CD, blood drum spirit in Albany, NY.
1997 – February, residency at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey in world music and jazz
1997 – March, workshop and concert at St. Mark’s Church, New York, for the World Music Institute
1999 – February, residency at St. Michael’s College (VT) in world music and jazz
2000 – July, performance at the Wesleyan University Summer Music series (Middletown, CT)
2000 – October, New England tour, including residency in world music and jazz at St. Michael’s College (VT)
2001 – July, performances in Beijing, China, including the Midi School, Beijing University, Big Easy, and CD Blues Cafe
2003 – November, New England tour, including concerts and workshop at Bascom Lodge, Mt. Greylock, North Adams, MA, and residency in world music and jazz St. Michael’s College (VT)
2004 – May, workshops in world music and jazz and performances, including the Midi Music Festival, Haidan/Beijing, China, Beijing University, the Big Easy, and CD Blues Cafe
2004 – January, Re-release of double CD, blood drum spirit on Innova Recordings with including enhanced video eʋe on African and African American music and culture (St. Paul, MN)
2004 – February, residency in world music and jazz at St. Michael’s College (VT)
2005 – November, workshop and concert at the New School University, New York
2006 – May, performance in the Midi Music Festival (Beijing) and workshops in world music and jazz at the Midi School, Haidan/Beijing, China; and tour, including Hangzhou’s JZ club, Shanghai’s JZ Club, China, and Hong Kong’s Blue Wall Cafe.
2006 – May, recording of blood drum spirit live in china double CD, Beijing, China
2008 – May, release of double CD, blood drum spirit live in china, Innova Recordings (St. Paul, MN)
2008 – May, ancestors concert and CD release for ancestors and blood drum spirit live in china double CDs, Pittsfield, MA
2008 – June, workshops in world music and jazz and tour, including performances at the Midi School, Haidan/Beijing, China; Hangzhou’s JZ Club, Shanghai’s JZ Club
2009 – March, residency in world music and African American traditions/jazz at UMass Dartmouth (MA), including a concert at the Zeiterion Theater, New Bedford, MA
2010 – February, New England tour, including workshop and concert at the Long Trail School, Dorset, VT, and residency in world music and jazz at St. Michael’s College (VT)
2010 – May, residency in world music and African American traditions/jazz at UMass Dartmouth (MA)
2011 – May, performance at the Stone, New York, NY
2011 – August, performances as the featured ensemble at the first Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Jazz Festival, Manila, Philippines; educational presentations and workshops in world music and African American traditions, including jazz
2012 – February, residency, including classes, lecture/demonstrations, and concert at UMass Amherst
2013 – August, performance at the AHA! New Bedford Festival (MA)
2013 – September, performances as the featured ensemble at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Jazz Festival, Manila, Philippines; educational presentations and workshops in world music and African American traditions including jazz
2014 – August, performance at the AHA! New Bedford Festival (MA)
2015 – January, tour of Ghana for video recording of Movie, We Are One: Kopeyia-Aflao, Denu, Anyako, Medie, Accra, Kumase, Penteng, Mampong Asante, Ntonso, among other communities, supported by the U. S. State Department
2015 – October, video recording for our We Are One movie, UMass Dartmouth (MA) and New York, NY
2015 – December, concert and video recording for our We Are One movie, Soup and Sounds series, Brooklyn, NY
2015 – December, CD recording for Time Changes double CD at Systems Two Studios, Brooklyn, NY
2016 – January, CD recording for Time Changes double CD at Systems Two Studios, Brooklyn, NY
2016 – July, workshop and performance at the Solarfest Festival (VT)
2016 – August, performances as the featured ensemble at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Jazz Festival, Manila, Philippines; educational presentations and workshops in world music and African American/jazz traditions at the University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo University, Philippine Women’s University, and other universities in Manila and the Mt. Makiling Festival, supported by the U. S. State Department
2016 – September, workshop in jazz at the Midi School, Haidan/Beijing, China, and concert at the Midi Festival-Tenglong Cave, in Hubei Province
2016 – October-November, video recording for our We Are One movie, UMass Dartmouth (MA) and New York, NY
2017 – February, concerts and educational presentations and workshops in world music and African American/jazz traditions at Metro Manila universities, including the University of Santo Tomas, the University of the Philippines, and the Mt. Makiling Festival, supported by the U. S. State Department
2017 – June, release of We Are One movie (1:07), a feature-length movie directed by Sara Pettinella (www.weareonethemovie.com). The film has won numerous awards, including Best Feature Documentary (Jukebox, 2018), Best Musical Score, (Moscow, Russia, 2018), and finalist in the Calcutta, India, International Cult Film Festival (2018)
2017 – August, tour of Ghana for premiere of We Are One; movie screenings, workshops, and performances for elders and communities: Kopeyia-Aflao, Anyako, Medie, Accra, Kumase, Penteng, Mampong Asante, Ntonso, University of Ghana (Legon), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Kumase), Cape Coast University, the United States Embassy, plus workshop and concert at the +233 Jazz Club, Accra; supported by the U. S. State Department
2018 – January, We Are One documentary film is an official selection of the Logcinema Music Film Festival, Florida, USA
2018 – March, concert and U. S. premiere of our We Are One movie, Cambridge (MA) Multicultural Arts Center
2018 – April, residency in world music and African American traditions/jazz at UMass Dartmouth (MA)
2018 – April, We Are One documentary film is an official selection of the Roma Cinema DOC, Italy
2018 – June, performance at the Cambridge River Festival, (MA)
2018 – August, We Are One documentary film is an official selection of the Nisville International Jazz Festival, Serbia
2018 – August, educational workshops, concerts, and We Are One movie screening at the SALT Youth Camp, Couva, Trinidad and Tobago
2018 – August, workshops in world music and African American traditions, concerts, and our We Are One film screening at the Jukebox International Film Festival, Carson City, NV, USA. The movie earned Best Documentary award at the festival
2018 – September, We Are One documentary film is an official selection of the IndieFest Film Awards, La Jolla, California, USA
2018 – October, We Are One documentary film is an official selection of the Moscow Indie Film Festival, Russia
2018 – October, We Are One documentary film is an official selection and finalist at the Calcutta International Cult Film Festival, India
2018 – November, concerts, open rehearsals, lessons, mentoring, We Are One film screening, educational presentations, workshops in world music and African American traditions, and concerts at St. Michael’s College (VT).
2018 – November, We Are One documentary film is selected by the Roma Cinema Doc Festival, Italy
2018 – November, performances of royal hartigan’s arrangement of the Missa Luba that includes African drumming and jazz ensemble, with the combined choirs of Northern Vermont at Middlebury College, Castleton State College, and St. Michael’s College
2019 – February, release of our double CD time changes
2019 – February, We Are One documentary film is an official selection of the West African Film Festival, Houston, Texas, USA
2019 – April, residency in world music and African American traditions/jazz at UMass Dartmouth (MA)
2019 – April, performance at the AHA! New Bedford Festival (MA)
2019 – May, ancestors concert and time changes double CD release at the Zion Lutheran Church, Pittsfield, MA
2019 – June, workshops in African music and dance, We Are One film screening, discussion, concert and New York release for the double CD time changes at the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church, Brooklyn, NY for the Soup and Sounds/Brooklyn Culture Continuum music series
2019 – June, We Are One documentary film is an official selection of the Dumbo Film Festival, Brooklyn, New York, USA