Saturday, January 9
The Center for the Arts presents
Didjeridu Summit
Ondrej Smeykal & Stephen Kent
8:00PM, $20 in advance,$25 at the door

A musical Tete e Tete between the two most innovative and
talked about contemporary Didjeridu players in the world
ONDREJ SMEYKAL from the Czech Republic and
STEPHEN KENT, world traveler and Bay Area fixture.

"If you're skeptical about being swept away by someone
blowing down a hollow out log you're in for a big surprise"
- SF Weekly

A one-man Didgeridu orchestra is perhaps the best way of describing the extraordinary music of phenomenal Didgeridu player Ondrej Smeykal. His highly original style of play is the result of a life completely devoted to his instrument. For well over a decade and with ever increasing intensity, Ondrej has been developing and redefining his own unique approach to the Didgeridu. His predominant use of unusually long Didges and “extensions” of up to 4 metres in length, enable him to play incredibly deep tones and to produce a much wider range of sounds and overtones than are possible on regular didgeridoos. Each composition, or song, as he refers to it, is very different in style, ranging from break-beat and organic Didgeridu techno, to trance, ambient and anywhere in between.

www.smeykal.com

Multi Instrumentalist and composer Stephen Kent is one of the premier Didgeridu virtuosos in the contemporary world. Born in England he was raised in East Africa and in a career spanning well over 2 decades, based at various times in Australia, Spain, the UK and now the San Francisco Bay Area, he has pioneered the modern day use of the ancient Australian Aboriginal instrument from his position in 1981 as MD of Australia’s Circus Oz, award winning composer for Barcelona dance companies, 7 years touring the world in New Circus groups such as Ra Ra Zoo, to a catalog of over 20 CD releases, including 6 solo works, and multiple collaborations with group projects Trance Mission, Lights in a Fat City and, most recently, Australian Bebop Ragas & Baraka Moon. Collaboration across cultural boundaries is at the root of his interest and he has worked with extraordinary musicians around the planet including Airto Moreira (Brazil), Zakir Hussain (India), Habib Koite (Mali), Zap Mama (Belgium,Congo), Chirgilchin (Tuva), Samulnori (Korea), Leonard Eto (Japan).

www.stephenkent.ne