The Parkway Council announces the Fall 2022 Season of Parkway Presents

The Parkway Council is pleased to announce a fall season of five free music and dance
performances, as part of its Parkway Presents initiative. Parkway Presents brings to the
iconic Benjamin Franklin Parkway small to mid-sized arts and cultural programs that are
both representative of and appealing to Philadelphia’s diversity. The initiative—through
inviting new audiences to enjoy cultural activities in public spaces that have been
historically underused—is a key part of the Council’s efforts to accelerate the Parkway’s
transformation into a great urban park for all.

Parkway Presents events are free and open to all with no registration required. All
programs begin at 6:00 p.m. Seating is not provided; bring a blanket or chair to enjoy
these outdoor events. Find updates and additional information at parkwaycouncil.org.

Kulu Mele African Dance and Drum Ensemble
Thursday, September 15 (rain date Tuesday, September 20)
Shakespeare Park, Vine and North 20th Streets

Josanne Francis Quartet
Thursday, September 22 (rain date Tuesday, September 27)
Maja Park, Benjamin Franklin Parkway and North 22nd Street

Quey Percussion Duo
Thursday, September 29 (rain date Tuesday, October 4)
Shakespeare Park, Vine and North 20th Streets

West Philadelphia Orchestra
Thursday, October 6 (rain date Tuesday, October 11)
Iroquois Park, Pennsylvania Avenue and North 24th Street
In celebration of Mark di Suvero’s Iroquois, recently restored and reinstalled on the
Parkway by the Association for Public Art

Ken Ulansey Ensemble
Thursday, October 13 (rain date Tuesday, October 18)
Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza, Benjamin Franklin Parkway and North 16th Street
Co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation

Parkway Presents is organized by the Parkway Council and its Program Committee, in
partnership with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation. The Council thanks Harvey Price for
his assistance in helping to organize this series.

Matt Rader, president of the Parkway Council, writes, “Parkway Presents advances the
Parkway Council’s vision to transform the Parkway into a great urban park with active and
passive fun for everyone throughout the year, not just during big events. We hope you will
join us and get to know the Parkway as an amazing park to hang out in and enjoy.”

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Kulu Mele African Dance and Drum Ensemble
Kulu Mele African Dance and Drum Ensemble is a 50+ year-old, internationally
renowned performing arts company based in Philadelphia. Kulu Mele preserves,
presents, and perpetuates the centuries-old cultural traditions of West Africa and
the African Diaspora. They perform and teach year-round, across Philadelphia and
around the world. Highlights have included being part of the official entertainment
of the 2015 Philadelphia visit of Pope Francis, and performances at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music, Los Angeles’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Jacob’s Pillow
Dance Festival in Massachusetts.

Josanne Francis Quartet
Josanne Francis is an internationally known steelpan performer and music educator.
Born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago, Francis blends together and draws influences
from traditional Calypso music, Jazz, Indian, Funk, Rock, and Classical — a unique
mix which is not typical for the instrument. She has served as an artist in residence
at Strathmore Music Center and has performed at the John F Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, New York’s Times Square, and Lincoln Center.
Francis currently resides in Maryland where she runs her educational company Steel
on Wheels and teaches steelband at the University of Delaware.

Quey Percussion Duo
For more than 18 years, Quey [“Kway”] Percussion Duo (QPD) has blended traditions
of Western and non-Western percussion, contemporary, classical, and popular music
to create colorful sound worlds that often place focus on interlocking counterpoint
and musical multi-tasking. Comprised of members Gene Koshinski and Tim
Broscious, QPD has performed internationally and across the United States. As new
music advocates, QPD has generated nearly 200 new works written for the duo (or
by the duo). QPD are residents at the University of Delaware where they co-direct the
percussion program, deliver various chamber ensembles, and teach.

West Philadelphia Orchestra
West Philadelphia Orchestra (WPO) is a brass band inspired by the Romani brass
“orkestars” and “fanfares” of Eastern Europe. WPO began as a village band for their
neighborhood in 2006, performing at parks, rocking street festivals and collaborating
with community theaters. WPO plays a wide-range of music, including traditional
Balkan music (emphasis on Serbian and Macedonian repertoire), klezmer music
rooted in Philadelphia’s klezmer tradition, NOLA style ‘jazz,’ and a bit of frevo, ska,
and American pop music. On stages and record, however, the band focuses on
their original compositions which meld all of those influences together. They have
collaborated with artists as varied as RJD2, Dr. Dog, Martha Graham Cracker,
Johnny Showcase, and the Trisha Brown Dance Company.

Ken Ulansey Ensemble
Ken Ulansey, a player of alto and soprano sax and pennywhistle, and singer and
guitarist Phyllis Chapell have been combining their instruments and voices together
for over 15 years of performance and recording, while drawing from traditions as
diverse as the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Brazil, Ireland, India, and the American
songbook. With Dave Posmontier on piano, Stan Slotter on trumpet, and Jimmy
Parker on tuba, they explore and reinvent the Klezmer experience.