UC San Diego Announces 2024 Season of Intersections Concert Series at Park & Market

“Our mission at Park & Market is to forge connections between people, artists, educators, businesses and innovators both in San Diego and worldwide, and Intersections is the perfect expression of this goal,” said Waltz. “We are thrilled to be able to once again bring world-class artists, writers, leaders and experts to a world-class venue for this event series, which is really like none other in the region. After a fantastic inaugural season in 2023, the 2024 Intersections schedule is packed with new, unusual, and fresh takes on traditional forms and ideas that are hard to find anywhere in a live space. Every Intersections performance, lecture, or experience is guided by a thoughtful expert narrator, and audiences will leave with both more knowledge and more curiosity about both their local community and the world around them.”

The 2024 Intersections series is co-curated by a number of influential San Diegans with ties to the arts and culture community:

Rebecca Jade, a San Diego-based singer/songwriter and international recording artist who has been able to turn her love for music into a career for close to two decades. Rebecca has toured with the Queen of Percussion, Sheila E., and Grammy-nominated sax player Dave Koz, and has shared the stage with many other world-renowned artists all over the world. Rebecca has earned eight San Diego Music Awards and in 2022, earned the title of “Breakout Artist of Year” from Smooth Jazz Network and “Debut Artist of the Year” by JazzTrax.

“I am excited to be a first-time host for the 2024 Intersections series,” says Jade. “Being able to bridge my love for music and the opportunity to co-create this series with some of my peers is an honor, and I think this will be a unique musical experience for patrons and artists alike.”

Damian DeRobbio, who has produced and managed live entertainment around the country for three decades. He has spent 25 years with San Diego-based Belly Up Entertainment, and currently manages production at well-known San Diego Venues The Belly Up in Solana Beach and The Sound in Del Mar. He is also the owner/operator of Beer Food and Music. From 1999-2009, he toured as bassist for The B-Side Players and Maiz. He still writes music, and plays guitar and bass, both solo and with local band The Folk Cartel.

“The energy with this year’s curators is electric and eclectic,” says DeRobbio. “It’s a group that you want to hang and play music with for hours. I left our first meeting truly inspired and excited for this project.”

Kamau Kenyatta, a Grammy-Award-winning American musician, record producer, arranger, film composer, and jazz educator. He is a lecturer of music at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego). He was given the Barbara J. and Paul D. Saltman Distinguished Teaching Award at UC San Diego in May 2009.

“It is truly exciting to work on a team of dynamic creatives to present inspiring performances in such an elegant space,” says Kenyatta.

Yale Strom, a violinist and one of the world’s leading ethnographer-artists of klezmer and Romani music and history. His books, photos, films, and recordings are in galleries, museums, and universities throughout the world. As a composer, Strom’s commissioned compositions have been performed by Rachel Barton Pine, Gwen Maslin, The Art of Elan, Sara Caswell, Mike Block, Bordeaux Philharmonic, Tafelmuzik Baroque Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, etc. He has performed throughout the world including at the United Nations when he was the first klezmer violinist invited to perform there and he was invited to celebrate Hanukkah at the Obama White House in 2016.

“It is an honor to be working alongside other wonderful curators for this upcoming 2024 Intersections Park & Music concert series,” says Strom. “I’m excited to bring rousing, virtuosic ensembles to our San Diego music fans.”

Scheduled Intersections events in 2024

Learn more and purchase tickets at parkandmarket.ucsd.edu/intersections.

Friday, January 19, 2024, 7pm, The Guggenheim Theatre, UC San Diego Park & Market: Adama Bilorou – West African Tradition and Beyond

Born in the rhythmic beats of Burkina Faso and rocked by the tradition of griots, Adama Bilorou knew how to transform his heritage into a melody of multiple nuances, a musical journey that crosses continents and cultures. A versatile musician endowed with a rare mastery of the Djembe and the Balafon, Bilorou has captivated ears and hearts across the world. From his childhood in Ivory Coast to his wanderings in Italy, France, the United States and Burkina Faso, he has written his score along the lines of diversity. Kamau Kenyatta will host and conduct a Q&A with Bilorou after his performance.

“Adama’s music is an uncanny blend of folklore and innovation,” says Kenyatta. “His stylistic versatility and mastery of many historic West African instruments leaves audiences enthralled.”

Tuesday, February 13, 2024, 7pm, The Guggenheim Theatre, UC San Diego Park & Market: Lisa Sanders & Brown Sugar – Sincerity in Song

Lisa Sanders is an electrifying harmonizer. Her heartfelt songs are genuine with deep meaning and conviction. A musical style that can only be described as soulful country blues, her genres include folk pop, gospel, rock and jazz. Writing, singing and producing from her heart in nearly every genre for over three decades, Sanders continues to make an impact in the musical world. Kamau Kenyatta will host and conduct a Q&A with Sanders after her performance.

“This fantastic group, propelled by the world-class songwriting of Lisa Sanders, impresses with its beauty, mastery and universal themes,” says Kenyatta.

Friday, March 1, 2024, 7pm, The Guggenheim Theatre, UC San Diego Park & Market: Quetzal and Martha Gonzalez – Art, Culture and Inspiration from East L.A.

Quetzal is a Grammy award-winning ensemble of highly talented musicians, joined for the goal of creating good music that tells the social, cultural, political, and musical stories of people in struggle. Martha Gonzalez (lead singer, percussionist, and songwriter) calls it an “East LA Chicano @ rock group,” summing up its rootedness in the complex cultural currents of life in the barrio, its social activism, its strong feminist stance, and its rock and roll musical beginnings. Besides being a rock band, the group and its members participate in a much larger web of musical, cultural, and political engagement. Damian DeRobbio will host and conduct a Q&A with the group after their performance.

“Quetzal are one of the most eclectic and inspiring bands that I have ever witnessed,” says DeRobbio. They rarely play San Diego and should not be missed.”

Thursday, July 11, 2024, 7pm, The Guggenheim Theatre, UC San Diego Park & Market: Gene Perry & Rumba Ketumba

A fixture in the local music scene since 1974, Gene Perry was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and was one of the earliest pioneers of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean music in San Diego. His ensemble, Rumba Ketumba, is composed of a mixture of San Diego natives and musicians from around the world. Rumba Ketumba plays a high-energy mixture of Afro-Latin, Caribbean, Spanish Rumba, and other dance rhythms. Curator Yael Strom, whose Yiddish klezmer group has previously collaborated with Rumba Ketumba, will host and conduct a Q&A with the group after their performance.

“Gene Perry and Rumba Ketumba’s extraordinary musical talent and personalities are hard for audiences to resist,” says Strom. “They have virtuosic ability with calypso, reggae, salsa, samba, Afro-Cuban, and African Diaspora music, and I have been fortunate enough to tour and collaborate with them on a number of groundbreaking cross-genre projects.”

Friday, September 27, 2024, 7pm, The Guggenheim Theatre, UC San Diego Park & Market: Kittel & Co. featuring Jeremy Kittel (violin), Josh Pinkham (mandolin), Quinn Bachand (guitar)

Acclaimed violinist Jeremy Kittel (formerly of the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet), Kittel & Co. (“Kid-dle and Koh”) inhabits the space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, and folk and jazz sensibilities. The members of Kittel & Co. have collaborated with Béla Fleck, Sarah Jarosz, Chris Thile, and Yo-Yo Ma. Together, Jeremy Kittel, mandolin phenom Josh Pinkham and transcendent guitarist Quinn Bachand coalesce into a singular voice that’s thrilled audiences from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival to A Prairie Home Companion. Yael Strom will host and conduct a Q&A with the group after their performance.

Playing a repertoire from bluegrass to Bach to a strathspey and reel set… [Kittle & Co] sounded thrillingly spontaneous. …Taking traditional music forward.” – Times UK

For more information about about Intersections at Park & Market, or creative, cultural and civic engagement collaborations, please contact Andrew Waltz, Director, Arts Management, UC San Diego Park & Market, at awaltz@ucsd.edu.

For more information on hosting an event or conference at UC San Diego Park & Market, please contact Jenny Nakamura, Events Manager, UC San Diego Park & Market, at janakamura@ucsd.edu. To find out what events and performances are coming to Park & Market, please visit parkandmarket.ucsd.edu.

To support arts and culture events at Park & Market, like the Intersections event series, visit the UC San Diego giving website.