Save the Date! More information to come...
Featuring poetry reading by Caroline Mei-Lin Mar and renowned jazz musicians Francis Wong and Scott Oshiro performing music inspired by the Asian American experience.
Tickets: purchase online $20-55 at Eventbrite.
Performers Bios:
Francis Wong has had an artistic career full of accomplishment and positive notice, including being considered one of "the great saxophonists of his generation" by the late jazz critic Phil Elwood. His work is well-documented on recordings, as he is featured on over forty titles as a leader and sideman. A critical vehicle for his work is Asian Improv aRts, the organization he co-founded in 1987 with pianist Jon Jang, which has been widely recognized for its role in creating a distinctive Asian American/West Coast sound in creative music.
Scott Oshiro is a Bay Area-based flutist and music technology researcher. As an African and Okinawan American, Scott’s creative and academic work incorporates influences from his heritage and combines them with Jazz, Hip Hop, and Electronic music. He recently received his Ph.D. at the Center for Computer Research in Music & Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University, where he researched the intersection between quantum computing, music, and culture. Scott is an Asian Improv aRts fellow, developing quantum computer music improvisation systems for an album featuring BIPOC artists, showcasing the connection between music and quantum physics.
Caroline Mei-Lin Mar is the great-granddaughter of a railroad laborer and the author of Water Guest, the Editors’ Selection for the 2024 Wisconsin Poetry Series. She is the author of Special Education (Texas Review Press), which won the 2019 X. J. Kennedy Prize, and the chapbook Dream of the Lake (Bull City Press). Carrie is a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, a member of Rabble Collective, and serves on the board of Friends of Writers. She is a longtime ninth grade health educator in her hometown of San Francisco, and lives in Oakland, CA. She has been granted residencies at Hedgebrook, Ragdale, and Storyknife, among others. You can find her online at carolinemar.com
