Silk Road Junction 101: The Performers

Sarah McClimon, flutist, kotoist and singer, grew up in Fortuna and began studies on piano with her mother, Ruth McClimon. She studied flute with Judy Scott and Jill Petricca. She studied music education at St. Olaf College, and studied flute with Cynthia Stokes, flutist with St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. She earned a Bachelor of Music in instrumental music education, magna cum laude, and an MA and PhD in ethnomusicology from University of Hawaii.

 While living in Japan for six years, she learned Japanese music with the support of the Japanese Ministry of Education and the Japan Foundation. At Tokyo University of the Arts (Toyko Geijutsu Daigaku), she studied koto with Dr. Andō Masateru. Sarah has taught at University of Tsukuba, Japan and at Humboldt State University's International English Language Institute. She currently teaches music at Fortuna High School and in the Department of Secondary Education at HSU.

 Rahman Abdur, tabla drums, was born in Bangladesh and began studying tabla at the age of six. In 1988 and 1992, he won national awards for tabla performance. Beginning in 1994 he studied percussion at Rabindra Bharati University in Calcutta, India with the support of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, where he was awarded the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. He studied ethnomusicology in Japan at Tokyo University of the Arts, with a scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Japan, where he earned an MA and PhD in ethnomusicology.

 He has been an active performer of tabla in Bangladesh for national television, and at diverse performance venues in Japan. He performs with fusion ensemble SquarPeg and with the Scotia Band. He currently teaches tabla lessons.

Sherry Hanson joins Silk Road Junction 101 as a special guest this evening. She studied viola at Peabody Conservatory of Music and played with the Sacramento Symphony. She currently teaches music at Fortuna Elementary School District. She gives private violin and viola lessons and performs with the Eureka Symphony.

More information on Silk Road Junction 101 can be found at their website.