Center for World Music

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 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 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 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.

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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🚨 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

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!