The Greater Worcester Community Foundation has selected the music of Worcester State Visual and Performing Arts Professor and Guitarist Carlos Odria, Ph.D., to be featured in a key video for the City of Worcester, one of nine U.S. communities in the running for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) 2020 Culture of Health Prize.
According to a RWJF press release, the $25,000 prize “honors communities working at the forefront of advancing health, opportunity, and equity for all,” with 2020 and 2021 winners both scheduled to be announced in the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Carlos Odria Trio’s song “Sour Grapes,” a track from the trio’s “El Rio” album, has been chosen to play in the background of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation video.
“I am grateful to be considered as part of the fabric of this awesome city,” Odria says.
According to RWJF, the other 2020 finalists are: Addison, Ill.; Alamosa County, Colo.; Chickaloon Native Village (Alaska); Douglas County, Kan.; Drew, Miss.; National City, Calif.; and Tulsa County, Okla.
The RWJF prize is a collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
Odria also recently served as the featured guest speaker in an online event by Tennessee Tech titled “A Constellation of Cultures.”
Students, faculty, and staff of Tennessee Tech, Florida State, and Worcester State attended the online event and listened to Odria discuss Latin American cultural diversity through its music.
Throughout the presentation, the guitarist performed songs to demonstrate how the music from a variety of cultures connect with each other like stars of a constellation to influence his compositions.
To listen to the “Constellation of Cultures” replay, visit: https://youtu.be/4GnOi4cRSrA.
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