Arabesque

Arabesque plays a blend of music from east and west, including Celtic, Middle-Eastern, American Folk and original tunes. Miranda Arana plays flute and whistle, and multi-instrumentalist Steve Vanlandingham performs on guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, banjo, oud and wooden slit drum. Come take a magic carpet ride around the globe with Arabesque as this unique duo unveils the mysteries and enchantment of the world's diverse musical cultures.Arabesque's first CD "Glen Road to Corboda" is now available on Apple .. and CD Baby!------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- Steve Vanlandingham is an award-winning 5-string banjo player in the "clawhammer" style. He grew up in Oklahoma and began playing the guitar in college, learning the blues and ragtime styles of Mississippi John Hurt, Elizabeth Cotton and other early folk musicians. He took up the banjo, inspired by the music of the Appalachian Mountains, and learned the old-time styles of Uncle Dave Macon, Grandpa Jones and others. One thing led to another and before long Steve had traced the roots of American Traditional music to Ireland and deeply immersed himself in Celtic music on a variety of string instruments. In 1980, he founded one of Oklahoma's original Celtic bands, "Banish Misfortune" They toured and performed throughout Oklahoma in conjunction with the State Arts Council for over 25 years. With Arabesque, he has an opportunity to integrate his skills in multiple music traditions ------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------- Miranda Arana grew up in western New York, and began playing the flute in her early teens. After receiving classical training at the Eastman School of Music, she went on to discover her passion for improvisation and world music. She spent her twenties traveling, working and living in Southeast Asia. After studying traditional Vietnamese flute playing with master artists while living and working with Vietnamese refugees in the Philippines, and during a two-year stay in Hanoi in the early 1990s, she became a member of the Phong Nguyen Ensemble, one of the premier traditional Vietnamese ensembles in the United States. She received an MA in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University in 1996, and became a music teacher to K through 6th graders at the Independent Day School in Connecticut, directing plays and concerts, and integrating world music into the school curriculum. She settled down in Norman, Oklahoma in 1999 and currently teaches world music at the University of Oklahoma. Since coming to Oklahoma, she has been an active member in three outstanding traditional music ensembles: Alma Latina, a Norman-based folkloric Latin American ensemble; Nur, Oklahoma's premier Middle Eastern ensemble, and Banish Misfortune, one of Oklahoma's longest-lived Celtic music ensembles.
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