Santa Ana Sites #3 – AnDa Union

Following the success of Santa Ana Sites #1: David Harrington of Kronos Quartet  and Santa Ana Sites  #2: Backhausdance, GCAC was approached by  Irvine Barclay Theatre on the possibilities of collaborating with them to present Santa Ana Sites #3 – AnDa Union!

OF COURSE WE ACCEPTED!

Grand Central Art Center and  Irvine Barclay Theatre – through the continued collaboration with Santa Ana Sites co-founder Allen Moon, and with thanks to Barclay’s Doug  Rankin and Karen Drews Hanlon, John Luckacovic and  Eleanor Oldham of 2Luck Concepts, and Tim Pearce  and  Sophie Lascelles from AnDa Union – presented an intimate acoustic evening with  a group of ten instrumentalists and singers from Inner Mongolia.  AnDa Union  describe themselves as music gatherers.  Digging deep into the Mongol traditions of Genghis Khan’s unified tribes and unearthing forgotten musical histories, creating a whole new generation of sound, as they perform on indigenous instruments and in the  khoomii, throat-singing, style.

Guests began their evening by joining us at Grand Central Art Center for a pre-performance mixer.   Though the extreme generosity of Trez Ibrahim and her soon to be open Downtown Santa Ana venue Vineyard Roz Wine Lounge & Art Studio,  guest enjoyed fine wine, conversation, our current exhibition Cumulus: Matthew Moore and Braden King, as well as a preview of our three exhibitions that open this Saturday, November 2nd – Cross Cut: Aili Schmeltz;   Rage Bear: Juggling Awesome organized by current CSUF Illustration MFA student Marvin Chow; and the Glass and Ceramics Exhibition and Sale, which includes the work of current CSUF students, alumni and community artists.

AnDa Union is in the midst of a 7 week US tour to some of the great world music presenters in the country.  We couldn’t be happier that this collaborative opportunity presented itself, allowing these magnificent musicians to play as part of our Santa Ana Sites series.

With 72 individuals in attendance, we were able to keep the evening acoustic, informal and intimate.     The beauty and power of AnDa Union’s voices and instruments brought the space to life for the enthusiastic audience.   Another grand success for the Santa Ana Sites series!

If you missed the event, you can see and hear past performances of Anda Union here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLy0IRy2-aQ&feature=youtu.be
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_jZGXhemw8

If you missed Santa Ana Sites #1 or #2, here are links to recaps:

Santa Ana Sites #1: David Harrington of Kronos Quartet
http://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/kronos-quartets-david-harrington-kicks-off-gcac-santa-ana-sites-series/

Santa Ana Sites #2: Backhausdance  
http://grandcentralartcenter.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/santa-ana-sites-2-backhausdance/