Amikaeyla Proudfoot Gaston highlights October arts events at Intersections

On Saturday, Oct. 2, Amikaeyla Proudfoot Gaston performed at an Intersections' Conversations As Melodies concert. Proclaimed as one of the "purest contemporary voices..." by National Public Radio, Gaston embraced the best of many types of music. She also is a member of Intersections Iraqi Voices Amplification Project team and starred in Intersections' No Place Called Home, a one-woman play written by Kim Schultz about the plight of Iraqi refugees.

Originally from the Washington, D.C., area, Ami began her musical training at an early age, studying classical piano. Her later training included viola, western and Indian flute, and a multitude of percussion instruments from around the world including tabla, timbale, bata, conga, and djembe. Ami's strong interest in ethnomusicology and sacred chanting led her to study with spiritual and musical masters from many different cultures.

At the invitation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, she was invited to perform at the Inaugural Festival of Sacred Chanting and Singing for the commemoration of the Golden Buddha in India. Her organization, the International Cultural Arts & Healing Science Institute (www.icahsi.org), in partnership with government, health, and non-profit organizations, brings together artists of all forms to promote healing and wellness through arts and activism.

Ami also sponsors a "Music as Medicine -- Healing with an Artful Purpose" project that has taken her to Cuba, China, Taiwan, Africa and India to work with at-risk youth and children. She has been to Israel and Palestine helping Palestinian refugees to alleviate the pain and trauma caused by the war through joyful music, dance and drumming. Last fall, Ami traveled to Lebanon, Jordan and Syria with Intersections.

At the concert, Ami shared her experiences working with the Iraqi refugee community through Intersections. She performed alongside Fred Johnson, a Fellow at Intersections who works on arts programming. To learn more about this multicultural music series and the dynamic artists involved, contact info@intersectionsinternational.org. To sign up for arts updates, click here.