Over the past four years, Musical Explorers has expanded tremendously with a digital platform that reaches teachers nationally, providing free online classroom resources including lesson plans, an interactive map, artist-led videos, and digital concert experiences filmed live at Carnegie Hall. Thousands of teachers across the US are utilizing Carnegie Hall’s all-digital curriculum, bringing musical traditions from around the world to their classroom.
About the Artists
Sylvester Makobi hails from Nairobi, Kenya. His musical journey began at the Kenya Music Festival, where he won first prize in three categories for university students and professors at the national competition in 2010. His professional engagements began with the Kenyan Boys Choir as a tenor, soloist, and later an assistant choir trainer. Later, he co-founded the a cappella group Taifa Mziki and served as director. He has performed throughout East Africa as well as the UK, France, China, and US. In Kenya, he performed with the Ravenna Festival Chorus with conductor Riccardo Muti. He has performed as soloist with the Kenya Conservatoire of Music Orchestra during state events at State House, Nairobi, for the Kenyan president and his guests; and during the celebrations for the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Michael Daves has been called “a leading light of the New York bluegrass scene” by The New York Times. He has worked with Chris Thile, Steve Martin, Tony Trischka, and Rosanne Cash in addition to performing solo and with a band of roots-music innovators. Michael’s 2011 debut album with Thile, Sleep with One Eye Open, received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. His album Orchids and Violence features 12 bluegrass tunes, each recorded in two versions: acoustic and electric.
Zulal, which means “clear water,” is an a cappella trio that transforms Armenia’s village folk melodies into arrangements that pay tribute to the music’s ancient roots while allowing it new possibilities. Zulal celebrates the trials and joys of old Armenian village life, from the echoes of loss to the enduring vibrations of dance and celebration. The trio has performed at the esteemed stages of the J. Paul Getty Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Berklee College of Music, and the Kennedy Center. Zulal has four critically acclaimed albums to its credit.
