GreenRoom Exchange

GreenRoom Exchange grew out of founders Lee Carroll and
Connie Milligan’s international travels and the friendships they have formed
with people from other cultures. Humbled by their experiences, they want to
share the joy of their discoveries and realization that across cultures, we are
more alike than different.

The name is a reference to a “green room”, the lounge area
off stage where performers relax, and the green room in Connie and Lee’s home
where they have hosted many spirited music gatherings.

Since 2020, GreenRoom Exchange has been offering a Global
Music Series, each concert highlighting a particular country and culture.
Through the universal language of the arts, GreenRoom Exchange seeks to provide
culturally relevant presentations that will speak to the diversity of our
population and provide interest to those who would like to learn more about
other cultures.

To provide a richer cultural context we go beyond music by
displaying photos and artwork from the featured country. We host parties
featuring food and drink of the artist’s country to further immerse our
audience in true cultural exchange.

We provide workshops for adults and children to learn more
about the cultural significance of world music. For example adult and child
drum and dance lessons from Ghanaian Master Percussionists Gideon Alorwoyie,
and Leo Genovese, a Grammy Award winning pianist teaching young scholars at the
Governor’s School for the Arts.

To date we have featured artists from Japan, India, Mexico, Ghana,
Cuba, Venezuela, Senegal, Argentina, Mali, Haiti and Spain.  We’ve been honored with several local arts
awards and received a grant to feature artists in the 250LEX celebrations
representing our community's cultural diversity.

Part of our mission is to document our work. Board Members
Duane Lundy and John Buckman document the live performances with studio quality
audio and professional video. GreenRoom Exchange has formed a record label and
will soon release an album by Alioune Guisse from Senegal. Three more albums
are in progress, including works by Grammy-winning Argentine pianist Leo
Genovese, Cuban singer Xiomara Laugart, and Grammy-nominated pianist Axel
Tosca.