By Vera Wilson, President & Founder Astral Artists

The Knight Foundation’s first and most generous grant for Astral’s Spiritual Voyages Festival on February 18, 2012 has brought our excitement and creativity to a new level. Conceived as a one-day, three-concert festival celebrating the musical and poetic expression of African-, Asian-, and Latin-American cultures, we look forward to sharing a wide variety of musical gems with new audiences, and to embracing the entire Philadelphia music-loving community.

It is a real joy in such a venture to experience the collaborations between so many wonderful artists and all involved – musicians, composers, local luminaries, and our own staff. Astral violinist Kristin Lee, flutist Julietta Curenton, graduate soprano Karen Slack, and composers Vivian Fung, David Sanford, and Evelyn Simpson-Curenton are just some of the many amazing artists who are joining us. We look forward to sharing their thoughts here as well, as they go through their own artistic processes in preparation for this incredibly exciting event.

In recent staff news at Astral, we welcome the arrival of our new Executive Director, Don Marrazzo. Despite being with us for just a few weeks now, Don has enriched our office with many wonderful new ideas, and we are thrilled to have him with us. Additionally, our Director of Marketing & Special Projects, Leslie Johnson, just celebrated her 10-year anniversary at Astral, and we delighted in the arrival of both our Director of Education & Community Outreach Bonnie Slobodien’s grandson Nathan and my granddaughter Nora.

Astral is all about celebrations of projects, milestones, anniversaries, and new arrivals – and, of course, any excuse to include delicious food to celebrate each occasion!