The Music Center welcomes classically trained hip-hop violin duo, “Black Violin” to BP Hall in The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall for a one-night-only performance on Saturday, January 18, 2014, at 8:30 p.m.   Credited for melding the traditional with popular culture, the three-time Apollo-winning “Black Violin” has created a new musical category with a groundbreaking blend of classical, hip-hop, rock, R&B and bluegrass.  Hailing from South Florida, the duo – Wilner “Wil-B” Baptiste and Kevin “ Kev Marcus” Sylvester – have toured internationally, performing with such artists as Alicia Keys, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin and The Eagles, and on albums for artists including Lil Kim, Jessica Simpson, Bone Crusher and Bad New Brown, among others.  Their live “Music Center Presents” performance will also feature members of their band, including turntablist Dwayne Dayal (DKTK) and drummer Jermaine McQueen (Beatdown).

According to The New York Times, “Black Violin works hard, but makes it all look like play…Sometimes they play with the intense seriousness of orchestral soloists; at others, they fiddle as if at a hoedown; at still others, they strum the violin and viola like guitars.” “‘Black Violin’ is an example of what happens when musicians go beyond the definition of musical genres to craft something no one has ever created before,” said Renae Williams, vice president of programming, The Music Center. 

Tickets to the “Black Violin” concert at BP Hall in Walt Disney Concert Hall include a post-performance opportunity to meet the artists.  General admission/standing room only tickets at $25 each can be purchased at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Box Office, online at http://www.musiccenter.org/bv or by phone at 213/972-8550.   There is a $4 per ticket handling fee if ordered online or by phone and a four ticket limit per order.  The performance is recommended for 21 and over.  There will be a cash bar on-site.