News Articles
As summer comes to a close and we welcome in autumnal happenings — the start of school, Labor Day weekend celebrations, and Global Roots Festival — we also welcome a wonderful new team member to The Cedar Cultural Center. John Marks is joining us as The Cedar’s Operations Director: his first day is September 5, 2023!
In late April, The Cedar’s Sr. Box Office and Development Operations Manager MJ Gilmore sat down for a Zoom interview with the emotive and storied Ethiopian-Israeli musician Gili Yalo in advance of his forthcoming show at The Cedar on June 1! MJ was joined by Abreham Tsegaye and Jote Mulat — owners of Café Jote, an Ethiopian coffee shop just a block away from The Cedar. Faysal Abraham, former Cedar Operations Director, also stopped in for the interview.
Calling in from sunny Los Angeles, Gili shared vivid details of his life through this interview. He talked about the story of his name, the first cover he ever did, and the significance of his return to Minneapolis.
The Cedar is pleased to announce that we have added new staff and board members! These staffing additions are aligned with an organization-wide visioning session we did in October 2022, coalescing our hopes for the direction of The Cedar and distilling them into actionable items: one of which was building new audiences for the amazing artists we present here.
Our sixth and final spotlight interview in this year’s cohort is with Sophia Deutsch (she/her). Sophia is a cellist and composer. Her creation for the 2022-2023 Cedar Commissions, Vis Vitae, is an exploration into our planet as a sonic landscape. Simultaneously charmed and overwhelmed by the vast sources of inspiration in the concept of ‘nature,’ Sophia embraces the heavy weight of it by trusting her body’s interpretation of these earthly phenomena. She spoke with Twin Cities music writer Youa Vang about the legacy of earth-inspired music, the restriction and subsequent freedom provided by classical training, and the wisdom of a mentor.
Our fifth spotlight interview in this year’s cohort is with Biaban (Aram Kavoossi, he/him). Biaban is an electronic musician and beatmaker. His new work for the 2022-2023 Cedar Commissions Oil and Dust is a sobering look at the omnipresent nature of oil. Inspired by the novel Cyclonopedia by Reza Negaristani, Biaban explores the narrative device of oil as sentient and ravenous, and all the while, claiming humans as dependents. Biaban spoke with Twin Cities music writer Youa Vang about the history of oil in Iran, channeling the characterization of this substance into a sound(s), and gratitude for collaboration.
Our fourth spotlight interview in this year’s cohort is with Fawzi (she/her). Fawzi is a DJ and rapper. Her creation for the 2022-2023 Cedar Commissions Caruurteena is a mournful invitation to Somali parents and elders to witness harsh and heartbreaking truths of fentanyl abuse amongst Somali youth. The title translates to “for our children.” Fawzi compassionately addresses the topic of drug addiction and asks if we can place the stigma aside in order to save the lives of these young people. Fawzi spoke with Twin Cities music writer Youa Vang about her steadfast commitment to music-making, her visioning, and the hopeful impact of this work.
Our third spotlight interview in this year’s cohort is with Cydi Yang (she/fluid). Cydi is a spoken word artist, musician, and dancer. Her new work for the 2022-2023 Cedar Commissions Soul Call is a modern interpretation of the traditional Hmong hu plig ceremony. In this ceremony, a soul is called back to the body after experiences of darkness create a disconnect. Cydi spoke with Twin Cities music writer Youa Vang about pushing their artistic boundaries, exploring their expression as a Hmong person, and what the art of spoken word means to them.
Our second spotlight interview in this year's cohort is with Emily Boyajian (she/her). Emily is a pianist, and composer. Her creation for the 2022-2023 Cedar Commissions, Transition, is an illustration of the journey that is one’s gender transition. Emily draws on her own experiences as a trans woman and explores those nuanced and dynamic experiences, creating stories that other trans people can see themselves in, too. In December, Emily spoke with Twin Cities music writer Youa Vang about the emotive possibilities of lyric-less music, encouragement to trans people to remove judgment from their self-expression, and her composition process.
Our first spotlight interview in this years cohort is with Theo Langason (he/him). Theo is a multidisciplinary theatre artist, teaching artist, and musician. His new work for the 2022-2023 Cedar Commissions songs for making sense of it all is an exploration into the inherently destabilizing time that was (is?) life from March 2020 onwards. In December, Theo spoke with Twin Cities music writer Youa Vang about his diverse upbringing, picking up and putting down various instruments, and watching his dreams disintegrate and reform.
