OkCello will perform at the Performing Arts Center at Kent State University - Tuscarawas on Saturday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m. While in the area, he will also visit local schools as part of the Performing Arts Center’s Educational Outreach initiative.
Okorie “OkCello” Johnson is an American cellist-songwriter whose artistry integrates cello performance, live-sound-looping, improvisation, and storytelling - all culminating in original compositions that collide classical with jazz, EDM, reggae, and funk. InStyle magazine identified him as a member of the “Creative Class Making Atlanta the New Epicenter of American Arts” while Atlanta Magazine has tagged him as part of the “Atlanta Rising Creative Class [that] Is Gaining New Recognition on the National Scene.”
OkCello is inspired by the exploration of African Diasporic melodies and narratives and their intersection with people’s perceptions and assumptions about the classical and European nature of the cello. As well, his work with improvisation attempts to embody the phenomenon of wordless prayer.
Members of the Dover High School Orchestra will join OkCello on stage during the Saturday evening concert to perform a special collaborative piece. “Our orchestra program has grown exponentially over the last few years and we are thrilled to have received an invitation from the Performing Arts Center to join OkCello on stage,” says David Rutter, Dover City School’s Director of Orchestras. “Opportunities like this don’t happen often.”
The Performing Arts Center is also continuing its tradition of connecting local students with internationally recognized artists. While in the area, OkCello will visit four local schools for in-school assemblies. “Over the years I’ve been able to see the impact these school visits can have on our area students,” says David Mitchell, general manager of the Performing Arts Center. “Thanks to individual and corporate donations to our Education Fund, we are able to continue this outreach into our seventh year now.”
Support for the educational workshop and outreach was received from the Dover Exchange Club and from individual contributions to the Performing Arts Center’s Education Fund. To learn more about the Education Fund or to make a donation to support these opportunities, visit: www.kent.edu/tuscpac/educational-outreach
Tickets for OkCello start at $29 and are on sale now at the Performing Arts Center box office, 330-308-6400 or online at www.kent.edu/tuscpac. The box office is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Performing Arts Center’s 2022-2023 Season is sponsored by the Tuscarawas County Community Foundation.
Free and convenient parking is available for all shows. The Performing Arts Center is located on the campus of Kent State Tuscarawas at 330 University Dr. N.E. in New Philadelphia.