WWU Global Spice Music Series Features SNL Percussionist May 26

Western Washington University's Department of Music will host percussionist and vocalist Valerie Naranjo, and multi-instrumentalist Barry Olsen at the second concert of the Global Spice World Music Series at 7:30 p.m. on Thurs. May 26 in the Performing Arts Center Concert Hall.

​Naranjo is the percussionist with the Saturday Night Live Band and performs regularly for the Lion King on Broadway. Olsen, a native New Yorker and alumnus of the Manhattan School of Music, began his career in the late 70s playing trombone in New York's Latin dance music scene. He has recorded and performed all over the world with many well-known artists, including Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri, Hector Lavoe, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Marc Anthony, and La India. Since 1988 he has been performing Lobi and Dagara music from northern Ghana, playing the drums known as kuar and gangaa.

Naranjo and Olsen have performed together since 1982 at festivals worldwide, including the Percussive Arts Society International Conference; the New Music Festival in Leon, Mexico; Semana Internacional de Percusiones in Mexico City; the Bath Festival in England; and Arts Alive in Johannesburg. In 1996, they performed in the Kobine Festival of Traditional Music in Lawra, Ghana, where they were honored as the first non-West Africans to be awarded a first prize. More information about Naranjo and Olsen can be found at http://www.mandaramusic.com/

Olsen and Naranjo will be joined by the WWU Percussion Ensemble and several Northwest percussionists including: Kendra Mclean, Kay Reily, Patrick Roulet, Melanie Sehman, and Steve Sehman. Rounding out the ensemble will be Gustavo Camacho (horn), and Greg Cox (trombone), along with students from the Western String Area: Lea Fetterman (violin), Antti Niemesto (viola), and Charlotte Roulet (bass). Amanda Kohler is the featured vocalist.

Tickets are available at the WWU Ticket Office for $10-16, and can be purchased online at tickets.wwu.edu, by phone at (360) 650-6146, or at the door. Free parking is available in the C Lots off Bill McDonald Parkway. Hourly parking is available in the lots adjacent to the Performing Arts Center. Hourly parking pay stations do not accept cash.