October 22, 2001
Contact: UCSC Ticket Office: 831.459.2159 (v/tdd)

Glen Velez & Handance

FURTHER CONTACT INFO:
Moon Rinaldo
UCSC Arts & Lectures
Publicity and Production Coordinator
831.459.4058
moonr@cats.ucsc.edu
or
Michelle Witt
UCSC Arts & Lectures Director
831.459.3861

UCSC Arts & Lectures office:
Fax: 831.459.4521
E-mail: artslecs@cats.ucsc.edu
Web: events.ucsc.edu/artslecs

Glen Velez + Handance

Details
ª World Music/Percussion
ª Sunday, November 11, 2001
ª Rio Theater, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz
ª Tickets (non-subscription/subscription):
Adult $23/$19; Senior or Student $19/$16; UCSC Student $13/$11
Tickets may be purchased through the UCSC Ticket Office, 831-459-2159,
or on the web at events.ucsc.edu/artslecs. General Seating only.

"More than just one of the planetís most versatile percussionists, Velez proves a
captivating composer. Ö Intellectually tough, cosmopolitan, and centered in the musical
(and spiritual) wisdom of East meets West." óLos Angeles Reader

UC Santa Cruz Arts & Lectures presents Grammy Award winning percussionist Glen Velez, on Sunday, November 11, at 8:00pm at the Rio Theater. Master frame drummer, composer, scholar, and teacher, Glen Velez has created his own musical style inspired by both Western percussion and frame drum performance traditions from around the world. His concerts include a beautiful array of instruments such as the Egyptian riq, (a small, intricately inlaid tambourine), the Irish bodhran, (a large single-headed drum), and the North African tar (often seen in the hands of desert nomads).

Performance
With his touring ensemble Handance and guest artists including Steve Gorn on the bansuri (Indian bamboo flute), Bassam Saba on nay (Arab flute) and oud (Arab lute), and others, Glen Velez takes audiences on a musical journey with original compositions and improvisations inspired by hand drumming traditions from around the world.

Background Information
With 1999 and 2001 Drummies awards from DRUM! magazine, Velez has emerged as an international soloist and seminal figure in the history of the frame drum. Over two decades ago he brought a new genre of drumming into the Western music world by creating his own compositional style inspired by years of drumming studies from various cultures. He introduced Remo Belli and the Remo Drum Company to the world of frame drums and initiated what has become a whole line of drums from world cultures.

After fifteen years of performing and recording with Steve Reich and Paul Winter, Velez works as a soloist while continuing to collaborate with a variety of top-notch professionals in many genres. Twentieth century music guru John Cage wrote a piece for him in 1989, and Velez has played with notables such as Pat Metheny, Richard Stoltzman, Suzanne Vega, Howard Levy, Zakir Hussain, Oregon, and Airto. A master teacher who conducts workshops worldwide, Velez has developed his own teaching method, which shares the name Handance with his touring ensemble.

His own compositions have been featured on National Public Radioís All Things Considered and John Schaeferís New Sounds and have been commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation, Jerome Foundation, and Readerís Digest. He has written music for theater and dance and recorded hundreds of albums on ECM, CBS, RCA, GRP, Warner Brothers, Deutsche Gramophone, Geffen, Nonesuch, Capital, and Sony.

To request an interview with Glen Velez contact:
Robert Besen, Besen Arts
Phone: 212-226-7570 / E-mail: Robert@BesenArts.com

A color image and black & white
images of Glen Velez are available
by contacting Moon Rinaldo:
moonr@cats.ucsc.edu or (831) 459-4058

UC Santa Cruz Arts & Lectures is committed to presenting artists of
national and international reputation to Santa Cruz County and beyond.

The 2001-2002 Arts & Lectures Season presented in partnership with
the Santa Cruz Sentinel, KUSP 88.9FM, New Leaf Community Markets and
Continental/seaway inns

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