Windows Series

An exploration of diverse perspectives

At Strathmore, we believe in the potential of music and art to break down barriers and build understanding between people of different backgrounds. Particularly, we have been talking a lot about the power of live performance to open up a window into the perspectives of people from different places, cultures, and eras.

The artists highlighted in our Windows series take us on a journey through distinctive places and stories, giving us a glimpse into worlds we might not typically encounter. Their art illuminates for us the singular, specific sound of a language, region, and musical traditions. At the same time, it explores universal themes of humanity to help us find common ground. The people, places, and situations change, but the performances themselves, over and over, reflect themes that are familiar to us all—resilience, family, youthful innocence, restless longing, fear, dreams—highlighting our connections to the past, each other, and the world around us.

To deepen the experience, each Windows show is accompanied by a preshow event where experts and artists from our community provide context in the form of a lecture, discussion, interactive class, or companion performance. Following the show, join us in the Encore Café to connect with other attendees and share your experience.

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Past Performances

Lila Downs, Fri, October 20, 2017
Preshow Event: Women Artists on the Intersection of Music, Politics, and Identity

DakhaBrakha, Fri, November 17, 2017
Preshow Event: The Path of the Artist in Times of Conflict

Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Fri, February 2, 2018
Preshow Event: Jazz & The American Conscience

Niyaz, Fri, March 16, 2018
Preshow Event: Sufism: Ancient, Appropriated, Alive

Goran Bregović, Sun, October 28, 2018
Preshow Event: Contemporary Balkan Music

Aida Cuevas, Thu, November 8, 2018
Preshow Event: Peligrosa: Women Musicians Breaking Ground

Step Afrika! 25^th Anniversary Celebration, Sun, January 20, 2019
Preshow Event: Step Afrika! The Next 25 Years

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Fri, February 8, 2019
Preshow Event: The Long Walk Goes On

Gina Chavez, Sun, April 7, 2019
AT AMP, Postshow Event: Q&A with Gina Chavez

Caetano, Moreno, Zeca & Tom Veloso, Mon, April 15, 2019
Preshow Event: What’s Old is New Again: Caetano Veloso Speaking Out

Youssou NDOUR, Wed, May 29, 2019
Preshow Event: Music is the Weapon of the People

Ronald K Brown/EVIDENCE with Arturo O’Farrill Ensemble, Fri, November 8, 2019
Preshow Event: Kinetic Collaborations: A Conversation with Ronald K. Brown and Arturo O’Farrill

Manual Cinema, No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, Fri, January 24, 2020
Preshow Event: We Are Each Other’s Harvest: A Gathering of Poets

Bereishit Dance Company, Thu, February 6, 2020
Preshow Event: Tradition + Invention: Distinctive Approaches in Modern Dance

Monuments, October 1–31, 2020

PHILADANCO!, Fri, January 28, 2022
Preshow Event: The Legacy of PHILADANCO!: A Conversation with Joan Myers Brown

Step Afrika!'s Drumfolk, Thu & Fri, March 3 & 4, 2022
Preshow Events: A Conversation with C. Brian Williams

Marisa Monte, Thu, March 10, 2022
Preshow Event: Women Making Music & Leading Communities

DakhaBrakha, Sat, August 6, 2022
Preshow Event: Chaos & The Creative: Artists On Conflict & Craft

Voices of Mississippi, Sat, February 4, 2023
Preshow Event: Piedmont Blues Lecture & Blues Jam

Allison Miller Presents Rivers in Our Veins, Fri, February 10, 2023
Preshow Event: Critical Currents—The Life-Sustaining Rivers of the DMV

Love in Exile: Arooj Aftab, Vijay Ayer, Shahzad Ismaily, Fri, April 14, 2023
Preshow Event: South Asian Music in Global Context

Angélique Kidjo, Thu, June 15
Preshow Event: Angélique Kidjo, Artist & Advocate

Itzhak Perlman: In the Fiddler's House
Thu, September 28, 2023
Preshow Event: Jewish Musical Traditions & The Fiddler's House

Fatoumata Diawara
Fri, September 29, 2023
Preshow Event: Fatoumata Diawara, Queen of the Wondrous Wassoulou

Anoushka Shankar
Fri, October 6
Preshow Event: DJ & Visual Art

Ranky Tanky with Very Special Guest Ms. Lisa Fischer
Thu, November 2
Preshow Event: Critical Jukebox—Gullah Music

Makaya McCraven: In These Times
Fri, February 23
Preshow Event: Makaya McCraven's "Organic Beat Music" with Giovani Russonello

Arturo Sandoval & Pedrito Martínez
Sun, March 10
Preshow Event: Salsa Dance Workshop with Ricardo Loaiza

Rhiannon Giddens
Mon, March 18
Preshow Event: Black Folk Music & The Banjo with Kristina Gaddy

Sona Jobarteh
Sun, April 7
Preshow Event: Calabash Market

Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones
Fri, April 26
Preshow Event: "Our Bones Cry Out!"

Meshell Ndegeocello's No More Water / The Gospel of James Baldwin
Sat, October 5
Preshow Event: The Gospel of Meshell Ndgedeocello

Sasha Velour's The Big Reveal Live Show!
Sat, January 25
Preshow Event: Generations of Drag Royalty

Hamid Rahmanian's Song of the North
Fri, January 31
Preshow Event: Sights & Sounds of Ancient Persia

Arturo O'Farrill & Afro Latin Orchestra
Sat, March 1
Preshow Event: Building Belongó—BIPOC Spaces, Creativity & Growth

The Naghash Ensemble
Fri, March 21
Preshow Event: Transcendent Armenian Sonic Experience

Lila Downs
Thu, March 27
Preshow Event: Encuentros Latin American Market

The Sound of (Black) Music
Sun, March 30
Preshow Event: SOUND OFF!! Black Music as Discourse in the Age of Black Lives Matter