In-Person Tickets: $15/$12 Members

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All individuals must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 and matching identification to attend this event. If you are interested in attending this event in person, please read the full COVID Safety Policy carefully before purchasing tickets.

Can't make it in person? This performance will be streamed live for FREE on Flushing Town Hall's YouTube Channel. (RSVP HERE to receive the streaming link and reminder email!) 

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The Mini-Global Mashups continue through December 2022! Curated by acclaimed trumpeter and composer Frank London (The Klezmatics), the Mini-Global Mashup series is bringing together two amazing global music artists along with accompanists for an afternoon of music, conversation and exploration. Post-show Q&A. 

Mini-Global Mashup: Ukraine Meets Cuba presents Ukrainian bandura (Ukrainian lute/harp) master Julian Kytasty and Havana based singer Danae Blanco, accompanied by Grammy-nominated Cuban guitarist Juan Carlos Formell. 

Julian Kytasty is one of the world’s premier players of the bandura (Ukrainian lute/harp) and the instrument’s leading North American exponent. A singer, multi-instrumentalist, and third-generation bandurist, Kytasty has concertized and taught instrumental and choral music throughout the Americas and Europe. Born in Detroit, Kytasty has a BFA in Theory and Composition from Concordia University in Montreal. Kytasty has been recognized for his expertise in epic songs and early bandura repertoire. From 1989 to 1990, Kytasty was one of the first North American-born bandurists to tour Ukraine, performing in over one hundred concerts. He has often returned to tour in Ukraine. In the summer of 2014, he was invited by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine’s Shevchenko Bicentennial Project to visit sites associated with Taras Shevchenko’s life and poetry. Both his formal and impromptu concert performances were filmed for an upcoming documentary, Slidamy Shevchenka (In Shevchenko’s Footsteps). 

Danae Blanco provides a welcomed counterpoint to Cuba’s typically male-dominated timba music with her feisty delivery and enchanting lyrics. She has been credited with bringing salsa romantica into the 21st century. When she was younger, Blanco participated in regional choirs in the Cuban province of Sancti Spiritus. She later moved to Havana in 1985 to study music at Ignacio Cervantes College, where she became a member of the Alfredo Rodriguez Group. In 1993, Blanco joined the famous Cuban underground group 5U4, also known as “The Beatles of the Americas,” as a vocalist. She released her debut single, Pido, in 2003 and has been a mainstay in Cuban music since. 

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Juan Carlos Formell is at the forefront of a new generation of musicians from Cuba who are redefining the parameters of Cuban music. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Formell has been hailed as a successor to iconic Cuban artists such as Caetano Veloso, Joao Gilberto, Jackson Browne, and Nick Drake. As a member of the Formell family, one of the most prominent musical families in Cuba, music is in his blood.  Juan Carlos’ father, Juan Formell, is a bassist and the founder of the trailblazing group Los Van Van. Juan Carlos continues to carry on his family’s musical tradition masterfully. 

This performance will be followed by a Q+A conversation between the artists and the audience.