When Japan needed help, many musicians heeded the call. In Staten Island WAFOO the innovative Jazz Band was up to the musical challenge and organized a series of concerts to raise money.
WaFoo is not only a music performance group but also a group of active living composers to create contemporary music. Each musician has profound understanding of arts, culture, and humanities of our time. This helps the ensemble create "contemporary Japanese music" in lie of traditional Japanese music. All the repertoires are originals or new interpretations of Japanese traditional folk music made by the musicians of WaFoo.
The music of WaFoo is for everyone. It has been well-accepted and highly acclaimed by both critiques and ordinary music fans. The following quotes suggest how people loved WaFoo.
"WaFoo's amalgam of jazz and Japanese traditional elements is very, very easy to love."
- Michael Fressola, Arts Editor for Staten Island Advance
"People were in tears; emails and phone messages have been pouring in....- Michael Fressola, Arts Editor for Staten Island Advance
Many, many people spoke about how deeply your performance affected them."
- Beth Gorrie, Producer of Staten Island OutLOUD's Hiroshima Nagasaki Reflections
So loved is this group of Japanese musicians that all other musicians asked to perform did so with out a thought of refusing.
The show I covered was very wonderful and exciting. The Mighty String Demons are an ensemble of young Staten Island
violinists presently ranging in age from seven to sixteen. The group was founded in 1995 by it's director Sanchie Bobrow. They perform music by such composers as Bach, Vivaldi, Barrow, Dvorak, Puccini and Brahms. Their repertoire also includes tradition music such as Gypsy, Irish and American fiddle tunes, tangos and tarantellas. These kids can play like the devil... Hence the name, the Mighty String Demons.
Also performing this night was The Sher's, Elaine Kennerly, Cadre of Two and my friend Julian Maile whom I have known before he was born... because I was friends with his mother...when I was growing up.
