The Robert E. Brown Center for World Music had its first birthday last week and to celebrate it joined forces with the Boneyard Arts Festival and held a day long spring concert Friday at the Krannert Center.

The Robert E. Brown Center for World Music had its first birthday last week and to celebrate it joined forces with the Boneyard Arts Festival and held a day long spring concert Friday at the Krannert Center.

The concert featured international music including the Mande Percussion Ensemble, Didjeridu Trio, student-led Thai instrumental ensemble and Adzido Drum Club. Performers in the concert included visiting artists from such countries as Guinea, Bali and China.

The World Music Center, a new institute in the School of Music, was created in April 2008 with a gift from ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown’s estate. Upon opening, the Center has worked to teach and demonstrate world music traditions to University students, faculty, and Champaign-Urbana community members.

The Adzido Drum Club played at Krannert’s outdoor ampitheater and was lead by the director of the Center for World Music, Philip Yampolsky. The group also included multiple University students.

Bao Zhang, freshman in Engineering, said the concert was “very interesting and enjoyable” and that she would be interested in taking a course in Adzido drumming from the Center for World Music.

After the Adzido Drum Club, guests of the concert moved inside to hear the smooth, jazz-like sounds of Desafinado. This music from Brazil included songs with roots in Rio de Janeiro and Bahia.