The Tarjama Ensemble – a musical group and nonprofit dedicated to promoting world music – will host a series of workshops, dances and performances to teach Middle Eastern artforms and engage the community this Friday through Sunday.

The event – dubbed the World Music Weekend by its organizer, Meg York – will also feature local artists and genres such as beatboxing and hip hop.

The World Music Weekend starts Friday at 7 p.m. at the Old Town Mission Community Center, 1403 Chavez St., with a “contemplative concert” featuring clarinet and strings.

Parking is available in front of the center at 301 Socorro St.

All events associated with the World Music Weekend will take place at the Old Town Mission Community Center. There is a $20 suggested entry fee for all events, but people are encouraged to pay what they can afford, York said.

Featured artists during the three-day event will include Legendari, a Las Vegas spoken word artist; Brandon Arreola, a beatboxer who is majoring in music at New Mexico Highlands University; Amy Mills, a dancer and dance leader from Los Alamos; Denver-based percussionist Arthur Lefebure and Santa Fe percussionist Baer McKinnon.

Friday’s concert will include York on clarinet, Wade Knight playing the acoustic guitar and upright bass, LeFebure on drums and Chris Rogers on cello.

Workshops will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. Attendees can choose to attend a short course on either percussion, ensemble or dance. 

York states in promotional material for the event that the workshops will focus on learning dance steps, percussion rhythms and instrumental melodies “to grow our joyous and inclusive world dance music scene here in Northern New Mexico.” 

A dance party on Saturday at 7 p.m. will allow attendees the chance to show off skills learned during the workshops.

Saturday’s dance party will feature Arreola, students from the United World College in Montezuma as well as the Tarjama Ensemble. The diverse musicians will bring various styles of music to the dance party, including Arabic songs, beatboxing and rap music. 

The workshops will be offered again Sunday at 1 p.m. A community dance party on Sunday at 4 p.m. will again offer attendees the chance to show off skills learned during the workshops. Arreola will be joined by Legendari during Sunday’s event

The World Music Weekend will also offer a chance to purchase a print of an original art piece by Bula Anarbekova. The art piece depicts York playing the clarinet.

“(Anarbekova) is an artist from Kyrgyzstan that I hosted as a high school exchange student about 15 years ago,” York said in an email statement to The Optic. York said that the artwork is based on a dream that Anarbekova had that was inspired by York’s music. 

“(Anarbekova) had a dream recently that my music makes her ‘swim in the stars and moon,’” York said. Anarbekova created the image based on this sentiment and gifted the artwork to York, who will sell prints of it over the weekend.

The Tarjama Ensemble is just one iteration of several projects York has organized to support and promote world culture and music. 

A native of Los Lunas, York earned a degree in clarinet performance with a focus on flamenco and early music from the University of New Mexico. Her Tarjama Ensemble has led ethnic dance events in Colorado, New Mexico, California, and as far away as Turkey. She lived in Istanbul to learn to play the country’s style of music. 

York said that her “most heartfelt work” involves community events she organized within Hindustani, Nepali, Moroccan, Palestinian, Jewish, and Ethiopian immigrant communities in Aurora, Colorado. 

Currently residing in Las Vegas, York has started the local version of Tarjama Ensemble. 

“My intention has always been to offer authentic community live dance music gatherings,” York said. “I feel we need that more than ever at the moment.”

For more information about the World Music Weekend, visit https://megyork.com/.