Layalaya Global Arts Festival

WOODSTOCK, CT: A world-premiere event comes to the Quiet Corner, uniting Grammy-winning and renowned artists from six countries on one stage. Global musicians from Argentina, China, India, Japan, Mali, and the USA will unite to co-create and debut brand-new collaborative masterpieces created right here in Woodstock, showing how diverse worlds can harmonize when we truly listen.

This spirit of connection is elevated by student performances, a group of student artists with disabilities traveling from Korea, and a poetess creating an exclusive poem for the festival. Their voices embody why this event matters, proving that true artistic expression transcends ability, language, and geography to reveal our shared humanity.

Fuel your curiosity with riveting spotlight conversations on teamwork and peak success, featuring the president of The Juilliard School alongside the Director of Sports Performance for the championship UConn Women’s Basketball team. Come curious, leave expanded.

Artist Lineup

Sandeep Das - Artistic Director, Tabla (India)

Jake Charkey - Cello (USA)

Rajib Karmakar - Sitar (India)

Balla Kouyate - Balafon (Mali)

Solange Merdinian - Voice (Argentina)

Kaoru Watanabe - Taiko/Fue (Japan)

Guo Yahzi - Suona (China)

Speakers

Andrea Hudy - Director of Sports Performance, UConn Women’s Basketball Team

Damian Woetzel - President, The Juilliard School

Jui Shah, Sports Performance Graduate Assistant, UConn Women’s Basketball

Student Performers

Gaon Soloists (South Korea)

Kaylynn Cho, Student Poet

The Woodstock Academy (Woodstock, CT)

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Layālaya is immensely grateful for federal, state, and community support of the festival. The 2026 Layālaya Global Arts Festival is funded in part by the Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development, Office of the Arts; CT Eastern Regional Tourism District; SBM Charitable Foundation; and the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the six New England state arts agencies. Festival community partners include Loos Center for the Arts, The Woodstock Academy, and Green Valley Hospitality.