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

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