News

MSUM’s Fuego Tropical World Music and Percussion Ensemble will present their annual “World Music Celebrations” educational performance presentation for over 2,500 school children this coming Monday and Tuesday in Hansen Auditorium. Directed by Dr. Kenyon Williams, the ensemble shares the music of the world in a lively interactive musical format with children from every elementary school in the Red River Valley by partnering with the Fargo Moorhead Learning Bank, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the arts in schools. Their five 45-minute long presentations will take place on Monday at 9:10 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., followed by two more performances on Tuesday at 9:10 and 10:30 a.m.  Read the rest of this entry →

Saturday, Oct. 7 | 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Fargo Civic Center

MSUM’s Fuego Tropical, the world music percussion ensemble directed by Dr. Kenyon Williams, will perform this coming Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Spare Key Gala “Carnivale for a Cause” at 6:30 p.m. at the Fargo Civic Center. Sponsored by Bell State Bank, the gala will benefit Spare Key, an organization that provides assistance to families in crisis with critically ill or seriously injured children through housing grant payment assistance, engaged resource referral and advocacy. To find out more, visit sparekey.org.

The MSUM Percussion Studio is proud to host a Day of Percussion Saturday, Nov. 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The day will feature world-class guest artists Shane Shanahan (hand drum percussionist with Yo-Yo Ma’s “Silk Road Ensemble”), Larnell Lewis (drumset player with the jazz/fusion band “Snarky Puppy”), and Casey Cangelosi (percussion virtuoso).

Clinics and masterclasses will take place throughout the day in the Center for the Arts, with a Grand Finale Concert in Weld Hall at 5 p.m. featuring the guest artists plus MSUM’s own “Fuego Tropical” World Music and Percussion Ensemble with the FM “Shimmy Sisters” Middle Eastern Dance Troupe.  Read the rest of this entry →

Members of MSUM’s World Music and Percussion ensemble “Fuego Tropical” are presenting their annual Learning Bank Children’s Shows this week in Hansen Theatre for approximately 3,000 school children from across the Red River Valley. This exciting 40 minute education presentation highlights music and dance from cultures around the world, including Trinidad, Ghana, Brazil, and the Middle East.  Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM’s Steel Drum and World Music Ensemble, “Fuego Tropical,” will present three performances today in Hanson Theatre for over 2,500 elementary school students. Directed by Dr. Kenyon Williams, the ensemble has been performing at area schools and bringing school aged children to campus annually for over a decade. Read the rest of this entry →

Event features notable guest artists from all over the world

Minnesota State University Moorhead will host the fifth biennial MSUM Day of Percussion this Saturday, Nov. 15, on the MSUM campus.

The Day of Percussion begins at 9:30 a.m. and includes concerts, clinics and events featuring five world-class artists, including Grammy-winning steel pan artist Andy Narell from Paris, France and drum set artist Mark Walker from Boston, MA. Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM’s Fuego Tropical has been asked to partner with The Learning Bank, a non-profit collaboration between the West Fargo, Fargo, and Moorhead School Districts that provides a one-of-a-kind performing arts experience annually for nearly 11,000 kindergarten through sixth grade students. As a result of this community partnership, Fuego will present six 40-minute long children’s performances this Monday and Tuesday in MSUM’S Hansen Auditorium for over 2,000 first and second-grade students at 9:10am, 10:30am, and 1:00pm. The performances are sponsored by the Alex Stern Foundation, the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation, the Fargo Public Schools Development Foundation, the Arts Partnership, and the North Dakota Council on the Arts. Read the rest of this entry →

Only a few reserved seats are still available for the “Symphony Rocks” concert event this coming Thursday night at Bluestem in Moorhead! MSUM’s own “Fuego Tropical” Steeldrum and World Music Ensemble will take the stage alongside both the FM Symphony and Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome for an evening of salsa, reggae, and sass! Although reserved seats are in short supply, general admission lawn seats are still available. Come support our MSUM students and the FM Symphony while enjoying a fantastic evening of entertainment! Tickets are available through the FM Symphony box office at fmsymphony.org. Read the rest of this entry →

Poco Fuego, a smaller version of MSUM’s famed Steeldrum and World Music Ensemble “Fuego Tropical,” will perform this coming Thursday, August 14 at 8 p.m. at the Bluestem Amphitheater in south Moorhead alongside the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony and legendary local funk band, Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome during the FMSO’s “Hot, Hot, Hot” Symphony Rocks concert event. Directed by Dr. Kenyon Williams, Fuego Tropical was invited to perform for another engagement with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony after their highly successful performances this past Christmas with the orchestra during their “Christmas Pops” concert series. The five-member ensemble “Poco Fuego,” filled with upperclassmen from Fuego Tropical, will take the stage alongside the Symphony for a Carribbean themed concert featuring music by Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Santana, and more and will also feature former MSUM Music Industry student and American Idol contestant Andrina Brogden. Tickets can be purchased through the FM Symphony website at fmsymphony.org. Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM’s Steel Drum Band, “Fuego Tropical,” directed by Dr. Kenyon Williams, will perform this weekend with the Fargo Moorhead Symphony as a part of their “Holiday Pops” concert series! These annual concerts are a sure-fire way to get yourself in the holiday mood, and are often performed to sold-out audiences.

Performances will take place at the Fargo Theatre on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday in Fergus Falls at A Center for the Arts at 2 p.m. Buy your ticket today and enjoy “Christmas in the Caribbean” with MSUM’s very own Fuego Tropical!

MSUM’s World Music and Percussion Ensemble, “Fuego Tropical,” will present it’s fall concert “From Ghana to Trinidad” Saturday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Weld Hall. The concert will feature drumming, dancing, and singing from Ghana as well as hot steel drum music of the Caribbean (with a few Christmas favorites mixed in)! Guest artists include Dr. Monte Grise, Dr. John Tesch, Dan Christianson, and members of the MSUM Concert Choir led by Dr. Daniel Mahraun.

Admission is free.

Heat up a cool weekend with some music that is guaranteed to make you want to move!

The MSUM World Music and Percussion Ensemble, “Fuego Tropical,” has been invited to present two unique community cultural outreach performances this semester. This coming Saturday, Nov. 9, the ensemble will perform at 10:45 a.m. at the Pangea World Music and Culture Festival at the Moorhead Hjemkomst Center. As the only university-affiliated ensemble to perform at the event, the ensemble will be featuring West African drumming and dance under the direction of Dr. Kenyon Williams, Professor of Music and Percussion at MSUM. The ensemble has also been invited to perform on Trinidadian steel drums with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony for their “Holiday Pops” concert series in December at the Fargo Theatre and at The Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls, Minn. Read the rest of this entry →

Dr. Kenyon Williams, Professor of Percussion, spent three weeks of his sabbatical in Ghana where he studied drumming and dance with Ewe people of the Volta region of Ghana. During this time, he lived in the small rural village of Kopeiya at the Dagbe Art and Culture Center which was created by a family of master drummers from the area to spur research, maintain traditional art forms, and provide financial support for the region.

The music and dancing that he learned will be shared with members of the MSUM community via the MSUM World Music and Percussion Ensemble, “Fuego Tropical,” this coming fall. Read the rest of this entry →

Fuego Tropical, the MSUM World Music and Percussion Ensemble, will present their fall concert as the Grand Finale of the MSUM Day of Percussion this Saturday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. in Weld Hall. The concert will also feature guest artists from the MSUM Day of Percussion performing the steelpan music of Trinidad and the raucous samba music of Brazil. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students, and free for MSUM students, faculty, and staff. To find out more about the Day of Percussion and all of the fantastic clinics occurring this weekend, visit the link below!

Day of Percussion

The MSUM Department of Music will host a Day of Percussion with six internationally renown guest artists on Saturday, Nov. 10 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. in the Center for the Arts. The day will be filled with fun clinics, concerts, masterclasses, and hands-on music making for all ages to enjoy, and will climax with a performance by MSUM’s own “Fuego Tropical” World Music and Percussion Ensemble, directed by Dr. Kenyon Williams, performing with several of the guest artists at 5 p.m. in Weld Hall. Guest artists include: Jim Campbell (Drum Corps and percussion legend), Svet Stoyanov (marimba), Moni Simeonov (violin), Tim and Pat O’Keefe (Brazilian samba), and Scott Kettner (NYC drumset artist). Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students, and FREE for MSUM students, faculty, and staff with an ID!

For more information: Poster Day of Percussion 2012

Fuego Tropical, the MSUM World Music and Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Kenyon Williams, will present three educational performances for over 1,500 elementary school students across the Fargo-Moorhead region this Thursday and Friday. The ensemble annually presents their educational presentation “Carnival Jump Up!” each fall for area schools, to great acclaim from the students, faculty, and staff at each campus. This year’s program will focus on the steel drum music of Trinidad and the hot samba drumming of Brazil.

MSUM’s world music and percussion ensemble “Fuego Tropical,” directed by Dr. Kenyon Williams, was the only university ensemble invited to perform at the Minnesota Day of Percussion in Minneapolis this past weekend. They performed for a standing-room only crowd of over 800 high school and middle school students from across Minn. Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM’s World Music and Percussion Ensemble, “Fuego Tropical,” will present their annual school performances this Thursday and Friday on campuses across the FM area. Directed by Kenyon Williams, their critically acclaimed 45-minute educational presentation/performance is shared each year with over 1,500 area school children. Entitled “World Music Celebrations,” this year’s presentation will feature music and dances from Trinidad, Brazil, Ghana, and the Middle East.

Presents Dance and Drum Workshop

This Friday evening, “Fuego Tropical,” the MSUM  World Music and Percussion Ensemble, will present “From Trinidad to Tangiers: Steel Bands and Middle Eastern Frame Drums” in Gaede Theatre, MSUM Center for the Arts, at 7:30 p.m. The concert will also feature two very special guest artists: Shane Shanahan, NYC frame drum virtuoso from Yo-Yo Ma’s Grammy award winning “Silk Road Ensemble,” and the FM-based Middle Eastern Dance troupe, the Shimmy Sisters! It will be an unforgettable evening of steelpan, Middle Eastern drumming dexterity, and belly dance! On Saturday morning, Nov. 5, Shane and the Shimmy Sisters will present an open-to-the-public workshop in Fox Recital Hall for both middle eastern dance and frame drumming, from 10am-12noon. Admission to both events is FREE due to a generous grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.

The MSUM Percussion Studio, directed by Dr. Kenyon Williams, is pleased to host our third bi-annual Day of Percussion Saturday, Nov. 6 in the Center for the Arts beginning at 1 p.m. The day will climax with two unique concerts: the MSUM Indonesian Gamelan will join forces with Sumunar Gamelan (from Minneapolis) for a joint performance at 4 p.m., followed by the largest gathering EVER of steel drum musicians in our region at 7:30 p.m. in a “Steel band Extravaganza!” Read the rest of this entry →