Crossing East Artists

Artists - Hosts and Musicians

Hosts

George Takei - Host for Hours One - Four, is best known for his portrayal of Mr. Sulu in the acclaimed television and film series Star Trek, has more than 30 feature films and hundreds of television guest-starring roles to his credit. Widely recognized for his vocal talents, Takei has been a guest narrator for several symphony orchestras throughout the country. With the outbreak of World War II, Takei and his family together with 120,000 other Japanese Americans were placed behind the barbed-wire enclosures of United States internment camps.

Audio - Hear an interview with George Takei about Crossing East by WETA in Washington DC

Margaret Cho - Host for Hours Five - Eight, won the American Comedy Award for Best Female Comedian in 1994. She made television history that year by being the first female Asian American to have a television series based around her. Since then, Cho has had several successful one-woman shows. In 2005, Cho released her second book I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight, a compilation of essays and prose about global politics, human rights, and other topical issues.

Musicians

	Shasta Taiko - Theme Music & Profiled in Program Four, was started in 1985 by Russel Hisashi Baba and Jeanne Aiko Mercer, both recognized artists in traditional and contemporary Taiko, new music, and jazz. They have appeared in numerous concerts throughout the west coast and teach Taiko to all ages. shastataiko.net Purchase Spirit Drum CD Hear our theme music here - 'Ashita' off of their album 'Spirit Drum: Taiko Stories From America.'
	Angelo Pizarro, Guitar Player and Composer - Profiled in Program One writes and performs improvisational acoustic and electric guitar music, mixing the traditional sounds of his Filipino heritage with the electrified funk and rock of his youth. He has performed for audiences in Washington, Oregon, California, Missouri and Virginia and recently debuted his self-produced solo album, Serendipity. angelopizarro.com
	Wilma Pang, Professor of Music - Profiled in Program Two is a music instructor at City College of San Francisco. She is Organizer of the Cultural Program of the San Francisco Moon Festival and has performed on radio and television. She has also been a touring performer in the United States, Australia and China. In 1992, she received a California Arts Council Grant for an Individual Artist.
	Cantonese Folk Music Society of San Francisco - Featured in Program Two are first-generation street performers in San Francisco, playing traditional Cantonese musical instruments.
	Ledward Kaapana, Master Slack Key Guitarist - Profiled in Program Three Ledward Kaapana records on the "Rhythm & Roots" Record Label. To purchase his CDs email kahokuproductions@yahoo.com. For more information on the Annual Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festivals (Maui, Molokai, Oahu, Hawaii, Kauai), please visit hawaiianslackkeyguitarfestivals.com or email kahokuproductions@yahoo.com or phone (808) 226-2697. ledkaapana.com
	Jared Rehberg, Singer/Songwriter - Profiled in Program Five is a songwriter in New York City. He writes songs about his own experience as an adoptee from Vietnam and about the connection between Vietnam and America for the Vietnamese adoptee community. jaredrehberg.com
	Jon Jang, Jazz Pianist - Profiled in Program Six is a jazz pianist who has studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and toured at major concert halls and music festivals in China, South Africa, Europe, Canada and the United States. He is featured on over ten albums and has composed commissions for many theater productions and major concert halls. Jon Jang bio online
	Daran Kravanh, Accordionist - Profiled in Program Seven, grew up in Cambodia in a musical family. Now living in Tacoma, Washington, Kravanh produced a CD, “Music Through the Dark” that accompanies the book about his life by Bree Lafreniere. Kravanh travels throughout the US and abroad to perform and tell stories about his life and the continued plight of the Cambodian people. musicsurvival.com
	Aishu Venkataraman, Violinist - Profiled in Program Eight, is a 13-year old violin prodigy, playing in a South Indian style. As Divine Strings, she performs nationally while her father accompanies on drums. While attending middle school, Aishu also takes lessons in classical and bluegrass violin and has already been accepted to a summer program at the Berklee school of music. divinestrings.com