The Global Roots Ensemble joined Iris Berkeley on Mundi for a live in-studio session ahead of their concert on Sunday, October 5th at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder. Supported by a recent arts grant, the group aims to bring together diverse communities through storytelling and music that blends traditions from around the world. They previewed new works, including Benes to Brandenburg, imagining a meeting of Bach and the Indian poet-musician Kabir, and Raja’s Footprints, inspired by John Coltrane’s spiritual connection to India. The ensemble described their upcoming performance as an immersive, improvisational journey with their full quintet, weaving global instruments, narratives, and cross-cultural dialogue into a shared musical experience. (Studio Session: 9/17/25)
Iris Berkeley: Tonight on Mundi we have a live in-studio performance from members of the Global Roots Ensemble. Thank you so much for joining us. You are going to be performing in just a couple of weeks—Sunday, October 5th, a matinee performance at 4:00 PM at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder.
And it sounds like there are a lot of really interesting stories surrounding this concert, including that you’ve actually received a pretty impressive grant award for this performance. Tell me all about that.
Global Roots Ensemble: Yeah, so the way it came about was about a year ago—last September, actually—there was a grant application process announced. Different artists in theater, music, and visual arts could apply. So I said, “Okay, let’s throw our hat in the ring.”
I described the mission of the Global Roots Ensemble, which really is our desire to attract a broader cross-section of the Boulder [00:01:00] community. Of course, there are many people who attend Dairy Center concerts, but we thought, what if we could bring different parts of the community together and make this a joint journey and community-building process?
That was the whole vision behind the grant, and we were thrilled and honored to receive it. This has given us an opportunity to work on some new pieces I’d like to tell you about later—but that’s how it all came about. We’re thrilled to be able to play at the Dairy Center.
Iris Berkeley: And it’s such a beautiful space. What a great opportunity to build community with truly global music. I believe you also have a Q&A or a meet-and-greet after the performance as well? And as you mentioned, there’s a special premiere of a piece. Tell us a little bit more about that.
Global Roots Ensemble: Yeah. This one is an imagined musical rendezvous. The piece is called Benes to Brandenburg, and it imagines a meeting between Bach and a medieval savant, poet, and musician who lived in Banaras—an ancient city, still very much alive today.
His name is Kabir. I often imagined, what might it be like if Bach were exposed to Indian music? What would he have done with it, and vice versa? The thing is, you know, Bach spoke German and Kabir spoke Hindi, so they wouldn’t have had a way to converse with each other—except through a common musical language.
It turns out that the harmonic minor scale, which Bach used in many of his pieces, shares the same melodic foundation as an ancient Indian raga called Kirwani. [00:03:00] It sounds very different, but still has similarities. So this is going to be a conversation between Kabir singing in his style and Bach responding. Then they each get inspired by the other, and it goes into improvised music. We don’t know exactly where it’ll go, but I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Iris Berkeley: Oh, that’s brilliant. There’s so much in this music that’s about conversation and improvisation—finding common spaces between cultures. Can you speak more to that? You’ve alluded to it a bit, speaking about the mission of the ensemble as a whole.
Global Roots Ensemble: Yes. Every song we play has a story. The idea is to engage audiences with the backdrop of a story and a theme they can hold in mind while listening. The music itself is melodic, groovy, and full of improvisation.
We think this can draw people in no matter where they’re from. There’s no language barrier here, except the universal language of music. As people engage with the music, they might recognize familiar sounds, encounter unfamiliar ones, and gain insights into how these elements can come together in harmony.
Maybe it opens minds about how people, too, can find ways to get along—how you can reach inside yourself, reach out to others, and create a shared experience. That’s what we mean about bridging and transcending cultures and people.
Iris Berkeley: With that in mind, can you tell us a little bit more about the next piece we’re about to hear? What should we be listening for?
Global Roots Ensemble: This song features a unique combination of instruments. First, percussion. John will play the flute, and Bill will play the kamel n’goni, a West African harp-like instrument.
The song imagines a jazz musician—specifically Coltrane—making a musical pilgrimage to South India, to a very famous temple of Shiva, the Lord of Dance and Music. It’s said that when Shiva danced, the universe was created.
Coltrane feels spiritually drawn to India and plays his heart out at the temple. The priest encourages him, and after a few days says, “Come at dawn for a benediction before you leave.” The priest then notices footsteps in a courtyard where no one had been. He realizes Raja had danced to Coltrane’s musical offering.
Iris Berkeley: That’s beautiful.
Global Roots Ensemble: The piece is called Raja’s Footprints.
Iris Berkeley: Global Roots Ensemble here in our cabaret studio for a very special live edition of Musika Mundi, in advance of their performance Sunday, October 5th at 4:00 PM at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder. We’ve just heard Raja’s Footprints. And if you heard echoes of Coltrane in there, you wouldn’t be surprised given the story.
We’ve got a few more minutes and one more song to share. This has been such a wonderful combination of vibrant, multicultural music and amazing storytelling. Folks who come to the Dairy next month will have more of the same to enjoy. What can audiences expect?
Global Roots Ensemble: Tonight we’re playing as a trio—John, Bill, and I—but at the concert audiences will hear our full quintet. That includes Eldon Kelly on guitars and arrangements, and Sheila Brige—my niece—on harp, Indian flute, harmonium, and voice.
The music has been developed for a quintet, so audiences can expect lush sounds with multiple strands of improvisation. Sometimes it’s not just one person soloing—it’s group improvisation, where we see where it goes. Stories are woven throughout about the songs and where they came from.
We don’t know exactly what will happen—it’ll be created live. Audiences can expect an immersive journey together with us.
Iris Berkeley: Creating in community.
Global Roots Ensemble: Exactly.
Iris Berkeley: So tonight we’ve had the more intimate, living-room version here on Mundi. The full quintet will be at the Dairy October 5th at 4:00 PM. Tickets are available at thedairy.org, and I believe we’ll be giving away some on-air in the coming weeks.
Where can people learn more about you in general?
Global Roots Ensemble: The words on a website can only say so much. The real essence is in the live music—the listening, the witnessing, the co-creation with the audience. That’s what brings us all together, and that’s what’s most fun and rewarding for us.
Iris Berkeley: Brilliant. I feel privileged to be an audience of two—myself and our engineer George—along with everyone listening. Before I hand things back to the rest of the show, we’ve got one more song. Tell us about it.
Global Roots Ensemble: This one is called Summon the Inner Warrior. The theme and melody are built on five syllables, echoing the kinds of questions we ask ourselves in the mirror when facing life’s battles. Not necessarily war, but: “What do I do now? Where do I go next?”
The music expresses the act of asking those questions and summoning the courage to face them. There’s a sense of calm once one question finds resolution—and then, of course, another arises.
Iris Berkeley: Summon the Inner Warrior. Thank you so much to Bobby Brige on percussion, Bill Croson on bass and kamel n’goni, and John Gunther on winds. Global Roots Ensemble will be at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder on Sunday, October 5th at 4:00 PM.
If you tuned in late, you can catch excerpts of this performance at kgnu.org. Thank you so much, gentlemen—I’ll let you play us out.
Global Roots Ensemble: Thank you.
Iris Berkeley: And we’ve just heard four exquisite pieces performed live in our cabaret studio here on Mundi, a special edition featuring members of the Global Roots Ensemble, who will be performing in their full five-piece configuration Sunday, October 5th at 4:00 PM at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder.
More information is available at thedairy.org, and as I mentioned, we’ll also be giving away tickets in the next couple of weeks. Keep listening for your chance. Big thanks to today’s performers.
