A collaborative effort between the Music and English departments will bring a taste of world music to Redwood in the spring.

Ian Dogole, the man in charge of the program, is a working recording artist, producer, multi-percussionist, educator, and ethnomusicologist.
Dogole has been a guest lecturer at Redwood since 2010 when he decided to lend his expertise to schools in Marin.

Dogole now visits Redwood and teaches Mattern’s music classes about world cultures and music through stories of personal experience, live performances, and YouTube clips.

John Mattern said he is excited about the “passion and knowledge of world music” Dogole will bring to Redwood.

“Our students gain more understanding and have a stronger connection to world music”, Mattern said.

For the last two years, the English Department’s World Literature classes have joined in the sessions led by Dogole. Dogole covers the music of the Silk Road, the Middle East, and areas of North Africa, providing additional insight to English students about the literature of non-Western cultures.

Dogole says he plans to cover most of South America this year, touching on places like Colombia, Peru, and Chile. Additionally, he will cover the migration of the Roma, the “Gypsy” people, from Northern India and throughout Europe.

“I want to show students the antiquity and beauty of these cultures – it’s very important to separate the governments from the people,” Dogole said.

Dogole’s lessons will feature live performances this year.

Dogole has collaborated with such artists as Hamza El Din, Paul McCandless, Tito La Rosa, Alex DeGrassi, and David Friesen. Dogole focuses mostly on the fusion of jazz and indigenous music when working on his own material. He has released several albums, both under his own name and with his group, Hemispheres. His eighth album, Outside the Box is to be released this January under his own label, Global Fusion Music.