WESTFIELD — In a unique showcase of musical talent, the WOFA Drum and Dance Ensemble of the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School will be featured next in the ongoing Sounds of Westfield series on Friday, May 16, at 7 p.m.
The third installment of the music series presented by the Westfield Woman’s Club will continue to celebtate the spirit of local musical talents. Woman’s Club First Vice President Trishadee Newlin told the Westfield News the work done by WOFA was actually an inspiration behind the music series hosted by the Woman’s Club.
“I spotted them [WOFA] at the Big E this past year. I had been walking by some booths, and I heard the sound of drumming, and I went, ‘What?’ And I turned the corner, and they were doing a presentation, and I said, ‘I have to figure out how to get these guys to Westfield and perform,’” Newlin said.
After eventually receiving a $2,500 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council through its Festivals and Projects Program earlier this year, the Woman’s Club had the funding needed to get started programing its Sounds of Westfield series of events throughout 2025.
“It stuck in the back of my head, it was part of the inspiration for this series for sure. So, when we received the grant for the series, I did some more research and reached out for them immediately,” Newlin added.
Directed by Alpha Kabisko Kaba, the pre-professional group is comprised of high school and middle school students. The group focuses on African drum and dance culture and strives to give its students and audiences a unique cultural experience.
“The level of performance is extremely high. It’s a pre professional group comprised of high school students and the level of musicality and dance performance they do is just exceptional and I wanted to bring that here,” Newlin said. “As a professional musician myself I recognize it, and I really wanted to highlight it. And like for every event that we try to bring to the theater, it’s something unique that I think that Westfield hasn’t seen yet, and I would love to shine a light on it.”
Newlin added that a showcase of unique talents locally is what the series was created for and aspires to do.
“The Sounds of Westfield series is all about highlighting all of the different types of music within our community. Whether its children’s theater, children’s music — we recently had Puerto Rican music, and in the fall we have a couple other things planned. This is just one of the many facets of our greater community that make this community awesome,” Newlin added.
Tickets are $10 and are available online at www.westfieldwomansclub.com or at the door the night of the event. Following the performances will be a reception where performers will be highlighted further.
“I really like the fact that we’re collaborating with schools in our area to bring a wide variety of ages to our club, making sure that its community oriented, not just for adults but for young adults or younger people as well, and making sure we have program that is reached out to everybody,” Newlin said. “It’s a performance, it’s a night of music, it’s a night of dance, we’ll hopefully have another artist on hand and there will be cake, so what’s better than that.”
