Join us for a Japanese Festival with SAKURA Japanese Instrumental Group. The performing artists, hailing from hometowns in both Japan and the Midwest USA, come together to share the soundscapes of traditional music as expressed through the compositions of their mutual mentor Yamada Mizue from Kanazawa, Japan, some pieces from the Kodo One World collection as well as traditional folk music pieces.

A collection of musical instruments ranging from synthesizers, drum machines, guitars, keyboards and electronic bagpipes, for you to sample and enjoy!

Synthesizers can be mysterious instruments and it can be hard to know why they make the noises they do. I played several for years, but did not truly understand them until I started using modular synths. This workshop will begin to demystify synthesis, give you some hands-on experience with a modular synth, and direct you towards resources to continue the journey on your own. 

Please note all are welcome, but there will be a limited number of modular synths for hands-on participation in the workshop.

After leaving the workshop you will be able to:

Enjoy an informal classical music performance for folks of all ages, performed by Concert Music Outreach Collective.

Concert Music Outreach Collective (CMOC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to increase access to live chamber music performances for underserved communities, as well as to feature and promote compositions written by diverse composers. CMOC takes high-level chamber music performances out of the concert hall and into the community through an engagement-based concert series hosted in prisons, shelters, and addiction recovery facilities.

Join us for a drop-in session and make your choice of musical instrument. Please note the time commitment for each instrument as they will take they whole time to complete.

DIY Harmonica - Grade K–Adult - half hour from start to finish. Create a small harmonica with everyday items.

Breadboard Electric Piano - Grade 3 –Adult - 1.5 hours from start to finish. Using a breadboard create a digital piano using electronic components and simple directions.

Desai's presentation explores U.S. media representations of the Third World, the global bloc of decolonizing nations in Asia and Africa during the Cold War, through the development of the mid-century music genre known as Exotica. Emerging after the Second World War, Exotica was a popular form of ersatz “world music” which, he argues, responded to anxieties around racial integration and the decolonizing world.

Center Stage Strings puts on an interactive concert to show kids what different stringed instruments can sound like, and how we can evoke different feelings and storytelling through music.

Enjoy some classic Japanese sci-fi with a modern twist! Award-winning electronic musician Joo Won Park will provide a live score to the 1965 movie Attack from Space!, directed by Koreyoshi Akasaka and Teruo Ishii and starring Ken Utsui.

In Attack from Space!, benevolent aliens from the planet Emerald send superhero Starman to protect Earth from invasion by an evil alien race called the Spherions. When Starman arrives on Earth, he discovers a conspiracy involving Earth's top scientists, and he must root out the traitors and also stop the impending alien invasion.

Join us for a safe, restorative, and inclusive afternoon concert of music and song, poetry and prose readings, and ambient electronic soundscapes in honor of AAPI Heritage Month. 

Rob Drew comes to AADL to discuss his new book Unspooled: How the Cassette Made Music Shareable.