Center for World Music

Center for World Music A San Diego-based non-profit fostering intercultural awareness and understanding through in-depth encounters with the world’s performing art traditions.

The Center for World Music is a nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is to foster intercultural awareness and understanding through in-depth encounters with the world’s performing arts traditions. To that end, we sponsor educational outreach, performances, and study abroad programs. Our Vision: Our vision is a world that celebrates cross-cultural understanding, respect, communication, and

healing through the performing arts traditions of cultures East and West. What We Do: We contribute to the realization of our vision through action on several levels. Our community programs in San Diego serve as a model for promoting intercultural communication, awareness, and understanding. Our World Music in the Schools program engages students in music and dance from around the world. Our concerts and workshops in San Diego, other major cities in the United States, and abroad present highly respected musicians that excite and inspire audiences, opening new cultural vistas. Our cultural tours provide transformative experiences of travel and authentic cultural immersion. Concerts: The CWM presents concerts and performing arts festivals of music and dance from traditions from around the world, featuring distinguished San Diego artists as well as visiting international artists from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe. The Center also organizes tours of major artists and groups to cities across the United States. Workshops: The CWM also presents public workshops of music and dance traditions from around the world: India, Indonesia, Mexico, Africa, Spain, and more. We are especially proud of our long-standing Odissi Dance School program in North County, San Diego. Connecting You with Musicians: The CWM also connects musicians with performance opportunities. Are you interested in a world music performance at your venue or event? Please contact us.

We’re Hiring!Do you believe in the power of the arts to build connection, spark curiosity, and enrich lives? The Center ...
06/12/2026

We’re Hiring!

Do you believe in the power of the arts to build connection, spark curiosity, and enrich lives? The Center for World Music is seeking a part-time Director of Access to Arts for Seniors to help bring engaging world music and dance programs to senior communities throughout San Diego County.

This hybrid position offers the opportunity to work closely with artists, community partners, and CWM staff while managing a growing program that fosters intercultural understanding through meaningful arts experiences. If you have experience in event coordination, enjoy building relationships, and are passionate about making the arts accessible to all, we’d love to hear from you.

Find a link to the online job posting details in the comments.

Our last concert of the 2026 Passport Concert Season is officially sold out! We are so excited to celebrate the end of o...
06/10/2026

Our last concert of the 2026 Passport Concert Season is officially sold out!

We are so excited to celebrate the end of our spring season with you! If you didn’t get a ticket yet, go ahead over to our website and sign up on our waitlist to be the first to know if any additional tickets open up for this energizing event.

Thank you for your continued support of the world’s performing arts!

From the voice of Sue Ashgari, one our CWM board members:Today was a proud day. The Center for World Music, where I serv...
06/03/2026

From the voice of Sue Ashgari, one our CWM board members:

Today was a proud day. The Center for World Music, where I serve as a board member, received a Torch-Bearer Award from the Peace Run, recognizing its efforts to promote understanding, connection, and peace across communities.

The Peace Run is an international humanitarian initiative that honors individuals and organizations whose work helps bring people together and foster greater understanding across cultures and communities. Over the years, the Peace Run has been supported by and associated with global figures including Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Carl Lewis, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

At a time when it can feel easier to focus on what divides us, I believe there is great value in remaining curious about one another. When we approach people with curiosity instead of assumptions, and openness instead of judgment, we often discover that we have far more in common than we imagined.

That is one of the reasons I am proud to support the Center for World Music. Through music and the performing arts, the organization creates opportunities for people to learn about other cultures and experience the richness of traditions from around the world.

Grateful to the Peace Run for this meaningful recognition and to everyone who helps build understanding, one connection at a time.

Our hearts are with the Islamic community and all those impacted during this difficult moment. Acts of fear, hatred, and...
05/19/2026

Our hearts are with the Islamic community and all those impacted during this difficult moment. Acts of fear, hatred, and violence have no place in our region.

San Diego's strength has always come from our diversity, compassion, and our commitment to standing together in times of challenge. We stand with you today and always.

05/15/2026

Join us for our FREE livestream of tonight’s SOLD OUT wayang kulit shadow puppet performance over at our YouTube channel

Please be patient with us, we’ve never live-streamed before so we’re all crossing our fingers for the best!!

World Music in the Schools celebrates the culmination of a partnership with the VAPA Foundation thanks to the inaugural ...
05/08/2026

World Music in the Schools celebrates the culmination of a partnership with the VAPA Foundation thanks to the inaugural Prebys SPARX Award. 50 San Diego teaching artists, including three CWM artists, completed a training in Social-Emotional Learning through the Expressive Arts Institute. They incorporated these techniques in residencies at 25 San Diego Unified schools.

CWM teaching artists incorporated art forms outside of their usual specialities! Sophie Bell’s ukulele students crafted their own visual neighborhood to accompany songs about welcoming others, Juan Carlos Blanco’s and Angelica Cardona’s Cuban dance students created their own paper crowns to wear in their carnaval performance, and Quin Herron’s Irish singing students wrote a play inspired by songs and stories from Ireland.
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05/01/2026

On Friday, May 15, 2026 we will be welcoming the talented Woro Mustiko Siwi, puppet master (dhalang), accompanied by Gamelan Kasuryan, directed by Joko Sutrisno in presentation of a magical evening of shadow puppets, storytelling, and live music at the Mingei International Museum.

This performance is already sold out, so don’t miss out on purchasing tickets for the final concert of our 2026 Global Stage Passport Concert Series when we welcome Lernazang, music and dance of Armenia.

🚨 Last Call 🚨Join us THIS FRIDAY for an extraordinary evening of Bulgarian village music with master musicians Ivan and ...
04/13/2026

🚨 Last Call 🚨

Join us THIS FRIDAY for an extraordinary evening of Bulgarian village music with master musicians Ivan and Tzvetanka Varimezov—renowned interpreters of a deeply rooted and highly sophisticated vocal and instrumental tradition. This performance offers a rare opportunity to experience the expressive range of the gaida (Bulgarian bagpipe) alongside intricately ornamented vocal styles shaped by centuries of regional practice.

This program invites audiences into the cultural, historical, and social contexts that inform these traditions, with a post-concert conversation offering further insight into the music and its transmission.

Tickets are nearly gone—reserve your seat by purchasing your ticket today.

📅 Friday, April 17
🕢 7:30–9:00 PM
📍 Mingei International Museum, San Diego

03/30/2026

Songs from the villages of Bulgaria — live in San Diego!

Bulgarian folk music is one of Eastern Europe’s most distinctive and expressive traditions. Rooted in regional village life, it blends the haunting sound of the gaida (bagpipe) with richly ornamented vocal styles, carrying songs of love, ritual, and celebration across generations.

The Center for World Music is honored to present Ivan and Tzvetanka Varimezov, internationally acclaimed artists and culture bearers, in a special San Diego performance. Through their masterful musicianship and storytelling, they offer a rare glimpse into Bulgaria’s living musical heritage.

📅 Friday, April 17, 2026
🕢 7:30–9:00 PM
📍 Mingei International Museum, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA

For those interested in global traditions, vocal artistry, and the cultural roots of music, this will be an unforgettable evening. All are welcome. See link in bio for ticket information.

We've made some new friends in Phoenix!World Music in the Schools teaching artist Máirtín de Cógáin performed with multi...
09/13/2025

We've made some new friends in Phoenix!

World Music in the Schools teaching artist Máirtín de Cógáin performed with multi-instrumentalist Pete Polansky at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix this week. As all our education initiatives, the program included lively music, history, language, and geography.

The special field trip assembly, enjoyed by over 200 students from Phoenix area schools, supported a new partnership between the MIM and CWM. The museum’s permanent collection of instruments from around the world is beautiful, and their mission closely aligns with our own educational goals. If you’ve never been, you owe yourself this treat!

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