Celebration of Day of Remembrance, Black History Month

OAKLAND — The Asian American Orchestra and Voices of a Dream (VOAD) ensemble present musical works celebrating Black History Month and commemorating Day of Remembrance on Sunday, Feb. 18, at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St., Suite 290, in Oakland Chinatown. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Celebrating their 20th anniversary, the Asian American Orchestra will present the East Bay premiere of “Go For Broke!,” honoring the World War II vets who served and died for their country while their families were imprisoned in concentration camps, and are joined by VOAD to perform a sneak preview of “Down by the Riverside: Requiem for a King,” commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination.

Commissioned by the Wattis Foundation and Inter Music SF (Friends of Chamber Music), “Down by the Riverside” is an inclusionary instrumental and vocal multi-movement jazz work scored for the Asian American Orchestra, which is composed of contemporary Western and traditional Asian instruments, and vocals.

The Asian American Orchestra is also excited to announce the release of their new CD, “Go For Broke!,” to coincide with this event, which includes an exhibition and reception commemorating two decades of achievements by the Grammy-nominated group.

Orchestra members include: Anthony Brown, drums, percussion, director; Naoko Amemiya, taiko, percussion; Ian Carey, trumpet; Shoko Hikage, koto, voice; Mark Izu, bass, sho (mouth organ); Masaru Koga, saxophones, shakuhachi; Brendan Liu, trumpet; Frank Martin, piano; Jimi Nakagawa, taiko, percussion; Janice Mirikitani, spoken word.

Tickets available at Eventbrite and at the door.