A very unusual event to be held in Morganville Friday, May 27. It is for musicians, music teachers, and family audiences, and will allow interaction with Yamaha artist and Grammy-award winner/cellist/composer Akua Dixon of New York City.

Akua will present a workshop on string improvisation at 1:00-2:30pm, and then will perform with guest string students and musicians of the Community Chamber Orchestra in an outdoor concert at 6:30pm in downtown Morganville. (There is a map to the location at www.kansasmusic.net under “Join the Orchestra;” in the event of bad weather the concert will be given in the old Morganville school building.)

Akua Dixon has an international career as a jazz cellist and has performed with many jazz greats of our time. Her resume can be seen at http://akuadixon.com/ and http://jazzbows.com/akuadixon.html. She also has videos of live performances posted online (Saturday Night Live and others).

How unusual is it to mix New York City jazz and Latin American music with rural North Central Kansas country? Where is there any opportunity for string players and the general public to meet a Yamaha artist and Grammy-award winner in the middle of Kansas for just a nominal cost? Where can a string orchestra teacher audit a clinic on teaching string improvisation by a professional cello improviser of our time?

Our musicians are all ages and come from a wide region of rural and city communities in North Central Kansas. We play without a conductor in chamber style. In addition to performing three of Akua’s original compositions (in “Determination” she will improvise on her electric cello), the Orchestra will perform 5 other jazz and Latin American works in which an added rhythm section participates. Titles of the program to be performed are:

“The Nearness of You,” “I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart,” “Sue’s Blues,” “Hit the Beach,” “Puerto de Libertad,” and by Akua Dixon: “Determination,” “Lemon Merengue,” and “Caribe.” Yamaha Corp. will have literature available at the concert.