ST. LOUIS, MO – Gitana Productions will present “Faces of Love Concert and Dinner,” an international-flavor Valentine’s celebration concert and dinner on Saturday, February 18, at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd. The dinner will feature authentic dishes from four leading St. Louis ethnic restaurants along with candlelight, champagne and chocolates beginning at 6:30 p.m. The concert with original music by Aska Kaneko and Dawn Weber follows at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the dinner and concert are $50; tickets for the concert only are $25. Call (314) 721-6556.

Authentic dishes will be featured from Olive Green International Cuisine (African), Haveli’s Indian Restaurant (Indian), Café Natasha (Persian) and Mandarin House (Chinese).Aska Kaneko, an internationally known violinist from Japan, and well-known St. Louis trumpeter and entertainer Dawn Weber will collaborate to create a unique, cross-cultural performance. Both classically trained artists have ventured into jazz and contemporary styles of music, are talented vocalists and have received critical acclaim for their versatility and quality performances.

“This musical collaboration clearly demonstrates that innovation and cross-cultural engagement is not just cultural but also spans creative styles, musical backgrounds and disciplines,” said Cecilia Nadal, executive director of Gitana Productions. “We are excited to see where these two talented artists will go creatively with their shared compositions and improvisation.”

Aska Kaneko Is is a virtuoso violinist, a composer, musical director, producer and vocalist.She directs Aska Strings and is a member of Gaia Cuatro, a Japanese-Argentinian group that tours Europe and Japan. She is a renowned musical director of major music theatre products in Japan and has composed music for theatre and television. Aska has collaborated with a wide range of professional artists, including a duo project with harpist Amy Camie of St. Louis whom she met at a Gitana Productions Faces of Love Concert called “Celebration of the Divine Feminine.”

Dawn Weber is a world-class entertainer, trumpeter, composer and stylish vocalist. She has performed with popular St. Louis bands Vargas Swing, Urban Jazz Naturals, and Mo and Dawn (The Remix Project) and currently leads her own bands including the Electro Funk Assembly, The Dawn Weber Trio, Naked Rock Fight and others. She has performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and with Latin, contemporary, and avant-garde bands, with styles ranging from electronic to blues, swing, brass and jazz.

Special guest musicians and dancers also will perform, and the concert will be recorded live for Gitana’s upcoming theater project, BETWEEN WORLDS IN ST. LOUIS: AN AMERICAN JOURNEY, coming in May /June 2017.

Links to video performances by Aska Kaneko and Dawn Weber are available at www.gitana-inc.org.

The Valentine’s event is the 19th Faces of Love event of international and local artists presented by Gitana Productions since 1997. Other concerts have featured multicultural presentations such as the China National Orchestra working with the local African American Cameron Youth Orchestra; local Jewish rock artist Rick Recht teamed with Muslim artist Hassan Hakmoun; and Karamu: A Fiesta of Latin and African American Music with Denise Thimes, the Bosman Twins, Bokulaka, a Congolese dancer and drummer and Latin Fire lead by Herman Semidey.The Regional Arts Commission, Missouri Arts Council and Arts and Education Council have provided partial funding to support many of Gitana Productions events.

ABOUT GITANA PRODUCTIONS
Gitana Productions, Inc. is a not-for-profit arts and education organization dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic community through cross-cultural awareness using drama, music and dance. Gitana events present a rarely seen diversity of international and local artists exhibiting an array of traditional and innovative artistic expressions. For more information, visit www.gitana-inc.org or call Gitana Productions at (314) 721-6556.

# # #

Media Contact
Mary Schanuel
[email protected] 
314.961.9772