Page 6 - New West Symphony Oct-Nov 2024 Digital Playbill
P. 6

ABOUT the ARTISTS






                          PACIFIC FESTIVAL BALLET  Kim Maselli, director
                          Pacific  Festival  Ballet  (PFB),  founded  in  1992,  cultivates
                          local talent  and  introduces  ballet to  the  community-at-
                          large. As a resident company of Thousand Oaks Civic Arts
                          Plaza since 2001, PFB performs classic ballets as well as
                          original, full-length ballets for growing audiences. For the
                          past two decades, PFB has integrated regional dancers
                          with professional artists in performances. As a result,
                          guest performers from New York City Ballet, Joffrey
                          Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet,
      Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the Kalinin Dance troupe in Russia have graced the
      Kavli stage with their extraordinary abilities.
      PFB cultivates a tradition of dance outreach by
      collaborating with other organizations to introduce ballet
      to the community. PFB’s partnerships with the Alliance
      for  the  Arts,  Support  the  Kids  Program  and  Project
      Plié enable the arts to reach thousands of underserved
      children, some for the very first time.
      pacfestballet.org
                        DERRICK SKYE  Composer, Conductor and Musician
                        Derrick Skye is a Los Angeles-based composer, conductor
                        and musician known for his transcultural approach to music,
                        integrating various musical practices from different cultures
                        around the world into his work. The Los Angeles Times has
                        described his music as “something to savor” and “enormous
                        fun to listen to,” while The Times (London) has praised Skye’s
                        music as “deliciously head-spinning.” Skye is an American
                        who has Ghanaian, Nigerian, British and Irish ancestry.
     Fascinated by the musical connections that can be found across cultures, Skye’s
     compositional process involves layers of problem-solving to integrate seemingly
     disparate musical traditions. With degrees in composition from UCLA and California
     Institute of the Arts, Skye is a student of West African drumming and dance, Persian
     classical music theory, Hindustani classical music, Balkan music theory, and Balinese
     gamelan.
     In addition to composing, Skye is dedicated to promoting cross-cultural
     understanding through music. His mission is to create music that transcends cultural
     boundaries and bridges diverse communities. He demonstrates his belief in the
     power of music to inspire, connect and foster dialogue across cultures.
     derrickskye.com.



    6   |   New West Symphony
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11