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DocuSign Envelope ID:44D3DBCB-4533-455D-8575-E6B5F754CA86 <br /> Artist Description The Beast is made up of the following musicians: Pierce Freelon <br /> (emcee/vocalist), Eric Hirsh (keyboard/synthesizing/programming), <br /> Stephen Coffman (drums) and Pete Kimosh (bass). The Beast was <br /> chosen because of the band's relatability to young audiences and <br /> strong connection to culture and education. The Cultural Explosion <br /> Planning Committee strives to reach diverse, new audiences every <br /> year, and this hip hop/jazz ensemble would bring a fresh, exciting <br /> energy to the event. <br /> Pierce Freelon, the emcee and vocalist for The Beast, is a professor, <br /> director, musician, Emmy-award winning producer and former <br /> candidate for Mayor of Durham. With a BA in African and African- <br /> American Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MA in Pan African <br /> Studies from Syracuse University, he has taught music, political <br /> science and African-American studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and North <br /> Carolina Central University. He is the founder of Blackspace, a digital <br /> maker space in Durham where young people learn about music, film <br /> and coding. He is also the youngest person to be appointed by the <br /> Governor to serve on the North Carolina Arts Council board and has <br /> served on the board of the Durham Library Foundation, Nasher <br /> Museum of Art, KidZnotes and others. <br /> Eric Hirsh, keyboardist, synthesizer and programmer for The Beast, <br /> has been writing and performing for the last twelve years in Durham. <br /> He is a 2012 recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council Composer <br /> Fellowship, and a four-time winner of the Herb Alpert Young Jazz <br /> Composer Award. He has performed with the North Carolina <br /> Symphony and the North Carolina Jazz Repertory to name a couple. <br /> Recently he came out with his debut album, "Distillation." <br /> Stephen Coffman, drummer for The Beast, earned a music <br /> performance scholarship — specifying in Jazz -to UNC-Chapel Hill <br /> after high school. Upon graduating he toured throughout the country <br /> with the world renowned Michael Jackson Tribute Band, Who's Bad, <br /> and had enormous success. In addition to playing in The Beast, he <br /> also plays with the band Peter Lamb and the Wolves, a traditional <br /> New Orleans Jazz band, and NCJRO, North Carolina's most <br /> celebrated Jazz orchestra. <br /> Pete Kimosh, bassist for The Beast, is deeply rooted in jazz, but has <br /> also found his voice in a wide variety of genres including hip-hop, <br /> salsa, funk, rock, orchestral, chamber-soul and any combination of <br /> the above. In addition to playing in The Beast, he also plays with <br /> Shana Tucker, Orquesta GarDel and Peter Lamb and the Wolves. He <br /> is also a producer and recording engineer and runs Steady State <br /> Studios in Durham, NC. <br /> Are you hiring Yes <br /> multicultural artists <br /> with the requested <br /> funds from this <br /> grant? <br />