STG and SAMA Partner For Global Sacred Music Project

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) has entered into a promotional partnership with SAMA: Seattle Sacred Music and Art, a new organization focused on bringing Global Sacred Music to the Pacific Northwest and founded by local entrepreneur and artist John Goodfellow and longstanding DJ Darek Mazzone. The goal of SAMA is to bring a series of musical and artistic experiences to the Seattle region that will seek to lift the spirit, create curiosity of other cultures, and provide education opportunities through artistic presentation. The first livestreamed concert will feature a performance by Seattle/Okinawan Shamisen player Mako and will take place on Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 7 p.m. PST on the SAMA Facebook page.

SAMA--the name of which is an ancient Japanese honorific that is used when addressing a teacher--plans to offer live concerts and educational opportunities for schools in the fall of 2020, scheduling them every other month at various venues throughout the region, and will also provide a platform for Pacific Northwest Sacred Music artists to showcase their work. Though the realities of COVID 19 have created challenges to the initial schedule, SAMA and STG are working on offering streaming opportunities that will highlight the following genres and artists:

• Sacred Music traditions of Sufi traditions from the Middle East and North Africa
• Court music of Korea
• Gnawa traditions of Morocco
• Griot styles of West Africa
• Sephardic and Ashkenazi Hebrew traditions
• U.S. Gospel, Greek, and Byzantine choral works
• Gamelan traditions of Indonesia

SAMA and STG feel that music is a vital balm to the confusion of the current crisis--especially when that music is presented with the intention to lift the spirit and create a global connection. It is healing music at its core, and we will need healing throughout this crisis.

For more information visit seattlesacredmusic.com.