We always wondered what would happen to advanced players in the Britannia World Music Program who graduate from high school but want to keep learning and playing world music.

Chris Couto has found a new home in the music program at Vancouver Community College, where he's taking classes in Solfege (training the ear), Choir, Latin Percussion and Latin Jazz. Two other members of Kutapira, Theo Vincent and Sangito Bigelow, are also part of the VCC Latin Percussion Ensemble, directed by Jack Duncan, with Sangito also joining Chris in the Latin Jazz Ensemble. Congratulations to these young musicians!

Jack Duncan is an internationally recognized percussionist, recording artist, and music educator known specifically for his work in Latin American and African music. His never-ending quest for knowledge and belief in finding it at the source have taken him to such places as West Africa where he studied in Senegal with master drummers Dou Dou N'Diaye Rose and Petit Touré, the director of the National Ballet of Senegal. From the roots of rhythm in Africa, Jack has traveled to countries where these rhythms have had major influences on local music. In Cuba where he has returned numerous times for periods of up to a year, studying extensively with the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, master Conguero Anga Diaz from the group Irakere and the legendary Changuito. Jack is the leader of the Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble Shango Ashé and Afro Cuban folkloric ensemble Tambor Iroko and has performed for international audiences with tours to India, Mexico, Caribbean, the U.S. and Europe. Jack is also a founding member of Hugh Fraser's Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improvisation (V.E.J.I.) and performs with John Korsrud's Hard Rubber Orchestra, Orquesta Goma Dura, Sekoya and many others. Jack has appeared on over 40 CDs and received a Juno Award for his work on Alpha ‘YAYA’ Diallo’s album The Message.

• MYLES BIGELOW Percussionist, Electronic Programmer, Recording Engineer

Myles Bigelow describes himself as a musician and electronic programmer with a penchant for fusion and global music.

Trained as a percussionist in the latin and African traditions, Myles studied with renowned artists Baba Olatunji, Alex Acuna, and Armando Peraza. A one-year stint at the Berklee College of Music in Boston at age 18 honed his skills as a percussionist and introduced him to the sound studio. Following his return to Vancouver in 2001, Myles toured with the Juno nominee Puentes Brothers and recorded with major record label artist K-OS on his debut album, Exit.

In 2003, Cuban flutist and Grammy nominee Orlando Maraca Valle recruited Myles for a tour of North America, Europe, and Cuba where a Canada Council grant permitted him a year of study in Havana with Yaroldy Abreu, Pepe La Rhumba and El Nino, among other top percussionists. He then spent a year in New York City working in a sound recording studio and developing his understanding of music production.

Myles is currently involved in numerous projects, including composing, performing, recording, producing music for various professional groups, and teaching youth. His first CD, Call It Music, was released in 2006.

For details on the Britannia World Music Program, please CLICK HERE