Cultural Enhancement Calendar

Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998 as a reminder that even as rapid globalization resulted in division, it brought extraordinary possibilities for working together. Seeking to understand this dynamic, he began to learn about the historical Silk Road, recognizing in it a model for productive cultural collaboration, for the exchange of ideas and tradition alongside commerce and innovation. And in a radical experiment, he brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road to co-create a new artistic idiom, a musical language founded in difference, a metaphor for the benefits of a more connected world.

Today, these Grammy Award-winning artists seek and practice radical cultural collaboration in many forms, creating and presenting new music, teacher and musician training workshops, and residency programs in schools, museums, and communities.

Silkroad has recorded seven albums. Sing Me Home, which won the 2016 Grammy for Best World Music Album was developed and recorded alongside the documentary feature The Music of Strangers, from Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville.

Free admission, seating limited and first-come, first-served.

WKU student priority admission beginning at 6:00 p.m. with a valid WKU ID.

Magia López and Alexey Rodriguez formed Obsesión in 1996 and quickly gained fame in Cuba both for their messages of social activism and the Afro-Cuban consciousness of their rap verses. Beyond contributing to Rap Cubano through their music, both singers play an active role in fostering the local Cuban artistic community.

Free admission, seating is limited and first-come, first-served.