Slideshow: A Roma Berklee Night
Flamenco dancer Isaac de los Reyes performs at Berklee Roma Night with student vocalist and violinist Tania Mesa of Canary Islands, Spain; percussionist Gilbert Mansour of Mount Lebanon, Lebanon; professional guitarist Yago Santos of Spain; and Javier Limón, the artistic director of the Mediterranean Music Institute.
Kelly Davidson
Guest artist and producer Damian Draghici '98, a legendary Romanian pan flutist and member of the European Parliament.
Kelly Davidson
Margareta Mattache, director of the Roma Program, Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights.
Kelly Davidson
Violinist Jason Anick, instructor in the Berklee String Department.
Kelly Davidson
Student guitarist Gilad Barakan of Jerusalem, Israel.
Kelly Davidson
Student clarinetist Itamar Ben Zimra, Givatayim, Israel.
Kelly Davidson
Student violinist and vocalist Tania Mesa of Canary Islands, Spain.
Kelly Davidson
Guest artist and pan flutist Damian Draghici '98.
Kelly Davidson
To mark International Roma Day on April 8, Berklee's Mediterranean Music Institute and the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights and Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard University joined forces to address issues facing the Roma community in Europe and to celebrate its culture.
During the day, Harvard hosted its fourth annual Roma Conference, this year called "Responses to State Sponsored Collective Injustice," which featured panels that spoke of addressing injustice and of building a culture of peace and social justice. To cap the day's events, the MMI sponsored a concert of traditional Romani folk music at the Berklee Performance Center, during which Berklee students performed with guest artist Damian Draghici '98, a legendary Romanian pan flutist and member of the European Parliament.
The concert was divided into two parts: In the first part, a student band performed Roma Gypsy songs composed by Romanian student Tomás Kaco followed by Gypsy songs from Spain and the Balkans arranged by Spanish student violinist Tania Mesa. In the second part of the concert, Damian Draghici performed gypsy Roma repertoire with the students.