JOe Powers / Lewis Childs Gears UP for
BIG CONCERT

4/29/06 - Harmonica virtuoso Joe Powers and tenor/guitarist Lewis Childs are leading the charge to blend traditional and modern music with an international beat in Portland. Performing tracks from their latest album, "World of Songs," the duo will join dancers and guest artists for an evening of haunting melodies, dance beats and soulful lyrics in a menagerie of world languages and styles.

Powers and Childs will perform music from France, Italy, Russia, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Ireland, Germany, Sweden and the United States at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at the Portland Conservatory of Music, 9100 S.W. Wilshire St., Portland.

J Abling and Julia Watts will perform traditional Tango dances during the live festival, as well as Brazilian capo era dancers. Japanese koto master Mitsuki Dazai, and Portland Conservatory co-founder and accomplished pianist Karen Lam are guest artists.

Mitsuki Dazai is a graduate of the Kunitachi college of Music in Tokyo, Japan, where she majored in classical voice. She has studied traditional koto music at the Ikuta School of Koto. Inspired by the cultural veneration of the instrument, she pursued advanced studies in Soukyokuin, where she graduated a certified koto instructor. Dazai is multi-talented, arranging and composing koto music in different styles including Jazz. Her performances often manifest the many voices of the koto. She is currently active as a soloist and performs in various ensembles including the East West Continuo with Tessa Brinckman. She currently teaches koto, and is also hard at work on her debut CD, soon to be released.

A native of Hong Kong, Karen Lam earned both Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from the University of Oregon, and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has appeared with the Oregon Mozart Players, the Oregon Ballet Theater, DeRosa Chamber Players in Portland and in the Palomar College Concert Series in San Diego, Calif. She participated in the prestigious International Prague Piano Masterclasses in 1999 and in 2000 she performed in the International Workshop in Graz Austria. Lam is also the founder and artistic director of the Portland Conservatory of Music.

Lewis Childs has been performing professionally for more than 10 years. He sings and plays guitar/percussion in the Brazillian cover Band Xevi Nova. Childs graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in music, where he studied voice with Milagro Vargas. In 2001 he traveled to Brazil to immerse himself in the country's rich music and culture. He speaks fluent Portuguese and sings in as many as 8 different languages. He currently teaches guitar, and voice and is producing his second album of original music. Visit www.lewischilds.com for more information.

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