Kirkland Performance Center presents...
Gary Stroutsos
- February 20, 4:00PM
All Seats: $20
WORLD FLUTE MASTER
World flute player Gary Stroutsos draws inspiration from the traditional wind music of Native American cultures and blends his arrangements with flute music of China, Cuba, and American Jazz.
Gary Stroutsos performs world flute music drawn from traditional cultures. Evoking a spirit of place, and the voices of the land, his work includes internationally acclaimed recordings at sacred sites.
Stroutsos is currently presenting his work in a series of concerts and talks designed for educational, cultural and historical institutions and performing arts centers. His music was showcased in the Ken Burns PBS documentary “Lewis and Clark: Journey of the Corps of Discovery” which led to a command performance at the White House for President Bill Clinton. Songs and stories from this experience will be part of his presentation.
Originally trained as a Jazz flutist, (studying with Jazz master flutist and composer James Newton, and Afro-Cuban flute master Danilo Lozano) Stroutsos’ work now features American Indian music and Chinese, Cuban and American Jazz stylings, reflect¬ing his diverse musical influences. His audiences have the rare opportunity to hear ancient Chinese Bamboo flutes seldom heard outside the walls of China.
Himself a Greek-Italian American, Stroutsos is acknowledged to have made a distinctive contribution to the preservation of American Indian music and culture, and plays with some of the finest American Indian artists working today, including collaborating with Navajo flute maker Paul Thompson, a work which expresses the enduring legacy of the American Indian flute and its recent revitalization into today’s society.
In a recent interview about his work, Stroutsos comments: “I have had a unique career of recording flute music inspired by travels and really awesome masters. My passion is to share with listeners the cultural legacies which my teachers have shared with me, particularly my journey with my friend and mentor, the Navajo flute maker Paul Thompson. We brought to life traditional love songs learnt from American Indians, and recorded these flute songs live inside Canyon de Chelly, the spiritual ancestral lands of the Navajo. I continue to discover more of the wealth of flute traditions, these time-honored traditions which span many generations: this history is the real mystery of the flute, both haunting and enduring. Bringing music to life for new listeners is part of my vision of my own work, because music touches the soul, making it our true universal means of communication.”
In over twenty releases, Stroutsos has created a body of work which expresses a passion for sound travelling: music without borders.
