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Rhiannon Giddens relaunches the Silkroad Ensemble

Courtesy of the artist

A couple of years ago, musician and vocalist Rhiannon Giddens replaced famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma as the artistic director of the Silkroad Ensemble, a shifting collective made up of dozens of musicians from around the world focused on playing music as eclectic as its membership.

"We all speak different languages ... [and] even if we both speak English, we speak a different cultural language, right? So you're always constantly trying to find, 'What is the common ground between you and me?' Silkroad is doing that [with] music."

Giddens spoke to Morning Edition's Rachel Martin about her work with the collective and the post-pandemic relaunch they're undertaking with the new program Phoenix Rising.


To hear the full conversation, use the audio player at the top of the page.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.