Embassy Series: Kinan Azmeh

Date: December 4, 2009 (Friday)
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Place: Residence of the Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic, 2437 Kalorama RD NW, WDC 20009 (directions)
Tickets: $100 concert plus buffet, available online

Kinan Azmeh, Syrian clarinetist, performs with Dinuk Wijeratne, Sri Lankan pianist perform at the residence of the Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic, Dr. Imad Moustapha.

Performers:
Kinan Azmeh, clarinet
Dinuk Wijeratne, piano

Press:
Examiner

Video:



Sponsors: Embassy Music Series

University of Salisbury: Kinan Azmeh

Date: December 2, 2009 (Wednesday)
Time: 7:00 P.M.
Place: Holloway Hall Auditorium, University of Salisbury (directions)
Tickets: free and open to the public

Born in Damascus, Syria, Kinan Azmeh is the first Arab to win the first place prize at the Nicolay Rubinstein International Competition in Moscow (1997). He is a graduate of The Juilliard School and the faculty of electrical engineering in Damascus. Currently, he is studying under Charles Neidich at the City University of New York.

Video:

Kinan Azmeh Premiers Concerto by Zaid Jabri



Sponsors: University of Salisbury

Annapolis: Kinan Azmeh

Date: December 3, 2009 (Thursday)
Time: 7:00 P.M.
Place: Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 461 College Parkway, Arnold MD 21012 (directions)
Tickets: free and open to the public

Kinan Azmeh, Syrian clarinetist, performs with Dinuk Wijeratne, Sri Lankan pianist, debut in Annapolis, MD.

Video:

Kinan, Dinuk & Friends:



Sponsors: World Artists Experiences Concert

Kennedy Center: Hijabi Monologues

Date: November 22, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Place: Millennium Stage (directions)
Tickets: free and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis

American-born Sahar Ishtiaque Ullah brings to the Kennedy Center the play she has written and performs. With real stories from real Muslim women, Sahar Ullah performs takes us into the world of the head scarf (hijab)...

Video:

Millennium Stage Performance

Hijabi Monologues - Intro
Time: 04 minutes 18 seconds



Announcements:
Facebook

Kennedy Center: Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory

Date: November 20, 2009 (Friday)
Time: 8:00 P.M.
Place: Kennedy Center - Concert Hall
Tickets: $20-50, online

IMG Artists presents a double feature. The Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory will have its Symphony Orchestra and its Turan Ensemble make their Washington debut.

Artists
Christophe Mangou, conductor
Kanat Omarov, conductor
Jania Aubakirova, piano

Program:

First Half: Symphony Orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY - Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy
RACHMANINOFF - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
TRADITIONAL - Two compositions: "Baksy" and "Kerogly"

Second Half: Turan Ensemble
RAIMKULOVA - Symphonic Poem "Jamilya"
ROSSINI - Overture to William Tell
BERNSTEIN - Overture to Candide

Video:

Ensemble "Turan"
Timing: 02 minutes 29 seconds



Sponsors: Chevron Corporation, Ministry of Education & Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Culture & Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan,, SC Kazkommertsbank, KazRosGas LLP, Lufthansa, Siemens LLP, Yerlan Barlybayev, Kanat Bozumbayev, and the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Library of Congress: Kayhan Kalhor & Brooklyn Rider

Date: November 14, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 8:00 P.M.
Place: Library of Congress
Tickets: Free with ticket -- available online

Iranian kamanche virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor returns to Washington with Brooklyn Rider to perform a “melding of cultures, genres, and musical minds.” Performing with them will be New York-based percussionist and drummer Mathias Kunzli. (Brooklyn Rider have collaborated on Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project.)

At 6:15 p.m., Dr. Taoufiq ben Amor will make a pre-concert presentation on “States of Mind: Music in Islamic Sufi Rituals," part of the Music and the Brain II series, in the Whittall Pavilion (no tickets required).

Program

"Ascending Bird" (Persian traditional, arranged by Colin Jacobsen and Siamak Aghaei)
"Armenian Folk Songs" (Vartabed Komitas)
"Beloved, Do Not Let Me Be Discouraged" (Colin Jacobsen)
"Silent City" (Kayhan Kalhor, arranged by Ljova)
"Brooklesca" (Colin Jacobsen)

Announcements:
Facebook

Video:

Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider:
"Beloved, do not let me be discouraged..."

Part 1
Timing: 06 minutes 17 seconds



Part 2
Timing: 05 minutes 40 seconds



Sponsors: Library of Congress

Agents: Kayhan Kalhor & Brooklyn Rider - Opus 3 Artists; Brooklyn Rider - Opus 3 Artists

Owings Mills: Soheil Nasseri - Czech It Out!

Date: November 07, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 8:00 P.M.
Place: Gordon Center For Performing Arts, 3506 Gwynnbrook Avenue, Owings Mills MD 21117 (directions
Tickets: $28-$20, online

Iranian pianist Soheil Nasseri will perform piano compositions by two of his favorite composers, the German Robert Schumann and the Czech Antonin Dvorak.

Soheil says:

Antonin Dvorak has always been a hero of mine. Aside from our shared heritage, I’ve always admired Dvořàk for his romanticism and his limitless melodic ability. While the "Serenade for Strings" is one of Dvorak’s most popular orchestral works, the Piano Concerto, the first concerto he wrote, is rarely performed – although I am not sure why, since it is a beautiful work, engaging for both the performers and the listeners. Schumann, as one of the first great Romantic composers, is a perfect way to introduce this whole program.

Program:
Schumann: Overture, Scherzo and Finale
Dvorak: Serenade for Strings
Dvorak: Concerto for Piano in G Minor

Artists:
Soheil Nasseri, piano
Edward Polochick, artistic director

Video:
YouTube

Sponsors: Herbert Bearman Foundation

Kennedy Center: Hakim's Hakimime - De Dromendief

Date: October 31, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Place: Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center
Tickets: Free and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis

Dutch actor and master storyteller Hakim stars in this one-man show, an adventure full of fantasy, music, and humor: "Ahmed van Oranje" in De Dromendief ("Ahmad of Orange" in The Dream Thief).

(Part of Kids Euro Festival 2009)

Video:


Sponsors: Kids Euro Festival 2009

Busboys & Poets: Maysoon Zayid

Date: October 17, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 7:00 P.M.
Place: Busboys and Poets , 2021 14th ST NW, Washington DC (directions)

Comedian and actress Maysoon Zayid performs "LAW" in WDC for the first time ever, with tales of life as a Palestinian, Muslim virgin with Cerebral Palsy from New Jersey, looking for love in all the wrong places.

(A portion of all ticket sales will go to the Maysoon's Kids scholarship fund.)

Video:

St. Mary's: Kinan Azmeh and Ayman Fanous

Date: October 16, 2009 (Friday)
Time: 8:00 P.M.
Place: St. Mary's Episcopal-Anglican Church (Foggy Bottom), 728 23 Street NW, Washington DC 20037 (directions)
Tickets: $15 suggested donation at door

Clarinetist Kinan Azmeh returns to Washington, DC, this time with hometown guitarist Ayman Fanous.

Program: Improvisations (see videos, below, for sample)

Event Details:
Facebook

Announcements:
Washington Post
Upcoming Yahoo!
Washington DC Guide

Video:

Facebook (must have FB account)

Kinan Azmeh, Simon Shaheen benefit concert for Mohammad Bakri (02:20)


Ayman Fanous -- Bouzouki Improvisations (07:53)

Kennedy Center: Khoomei-Taiko Ensemble

Date: October 9, 2009 (Friday)
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Place: Millennium State of the Kennedy Center
Tickets: Free and open to the public on a first-come, first serve basis

Khoomei-Taiko Ensemble come to the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage with a blend of Mongolian, Japanese, and American artists who highlight Mongolia's version of khoomei (throat singing) with the driving rhythms of Japanese taiko (drums).

Kennedy Center: Kazakhstan's Gaukhar Murzabekova + Amir Tebenikhin

Date: October 7, 2009 (Wednesday)
Time: 7:30 P.M. (90 minutes, no intermissions)
Place: Terrace of the Kennedy Center (directions)
Tickets: Free but required by and available from only the presenter: call (202) 460-8362 or email almat@kazakhembus.com

The Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan presents a brilliant Kazakh duo.

Gaukhar Murzabekova, violinist, has won acclaim domestically and internationally. She studied under the late maestro David Oistrakh and has appeared with Sviatoslav Richter, Natalia Gutman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Oleg Kagan.

Amir Tebenikhin, pianist, has won top prizes in European competitions. He has perfomed with renowned orchestras around the world.

Program:

• Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor "Concerto Without Orchestra" (Op. 14)
• Franck: Sonata in A major for violin and piano
• Vieuxtemps: "Reverie" (Op. 22)
• Castelnuovo-Tedesco: "Figaro" variations from Rossini's Barber of Seville

Sponsors: Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Kennedy Center: Khogzhumchu Ensemble

Date: October 7, 2009 (Wednesday)
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Place: Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center
Tickets: Free and open to the public on a first-come first-serve basis

The Khogzhumchu Ensemble from Tuva, Russia, come to enchant Washington with their magical throat singing...

Video:
Open World
Millenium Stage

Sponsors:
CEC ArtsLink
National Council for Traditional Arts
Open World (Facebook)
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

Kennedy Center: Nejla Yatkin - Wallstories

Date: October 5, 2009 (Monday)
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Place: Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center
Tickets: Free and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis

Nejla Y. Yatkin returns to the Millennium Stage to present her new dance event, "Wallstories," from her Dancing with the Berlin Wall Project.

"Wallstories" celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. “Dancing with the Berlin Wall” reflects on what the Wall and its removal meant to the Western world in its broadest sense -- and how the Cold War constantly threatened to turn into a devastating atomic war.

Ms. Yatkin says:

In the mid eighties, as a teenager in Berlin, I personally felt the threat of imminent conflict. This concern was an ever-present issue in conversations, meetings and demonstrations. This concern was also physically manifest in the form of the Wall, which both separated as well as divided East and West. Initially, as a child, you were always aware of it as it demarcated freedom from autocracy. Later, one simply learned to navigate around it.

Eventually, the Wall transformed from a symbol of oppression and division to a symbol of art and entertainment, from paintings to dance clubs. These simultaneously embody and trivialize the history somehow.

"Dancing with the Berlin Wall" acknowledges that physical and political boundaries play an important role in an individual as well as a collective’s life, from conventions that we live by to barriers that can isolate people and divide nations.

Previous performances:
Millennium Stage archives

Press releases:
Berlin Wall Project

Blogs:
Berlin Wall Project

Video:
Wallstories by Nejla Yatkin (03:04)

YouTube.com
more videos

Sponsors: D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Goethe Institute New York, University of Notre Dame, Princess Grace Awards

Kennedy Center: Joseph Tawadros with Australian Chamber Orchestra

Date: September 30, 2009 (Wednesday)
Time: 7:30 P.M. (1 hour, 37 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission)
Place: Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center
Tickets: $45 general, available online

Oud master Joseph Tawadros features in a second night of perfomance by the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Tawadros and brother, percussionist James Tawadros, perform a medley of Egyptian-flavored compositions.

Program:

• SAXTON - Birthday Piece for Richard Rodney Bennett
• ANONYMOUS - Sonata Chiquitanas XVIII, mvts 1 & 2 (Bolivia)
• SHOSTAKOVICH - String Quartet No. 7 in F-sharp minor, Op. 108
• TRADITIONAL - 'Yo era niña de casa alta' (Sephardic)
• TAWADROS - Compositions
• SHOSTAKOVICH - Prelude & Scherzo for String Octet, Op. 11
  SEEGER - Andante for Strings
• PINK FLOYD - "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," pts. 1-5
• TAWADROS - Rose, Compositions, Dahab

Video:
Oasis - Joseph Tawadros Trio (04:35)


Sponsors: Embassy of Australia, Chevron, Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts, Qantas, HRH Foundation, Fortas Chamber Music Concerts

Gettysburg: Roya Bahrami's Persian Immersion

Date: September 20, 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 1:15 P.M.
Place: Adams County Heritage Festival: Gettysburg Recreation Park, 545 Long Lane, Gettysburg PA (directions)
Tickets: Free and open to public

Iranian santur musician Roya Bahrami performs with ensemble, presenting their "Persian Emersion: A Message Of Unity":

• Roya Bahrami: composition, santurs, vocals
• Ricardo Marlow: flamenco guitar
• Steve Bloom: percussion

Video:


Sponsors: Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice

Tajik Jimmy sings "Jimmy Adja"

Baimurat Allaberiyev, AKA "Tajik Jimmy" the singing shepherd of Tajikistan, is rocking Russia --and the world -- via Internet...

Video:
YouTube
YouTube

Related news:
Wall Street Journal
New York Times
AFP
Independent
Taipei Times
New Zealand Herald
Foreign Policy
World News
Herald Tribune
Silk Road Intelligencer
Flickr
YouTube search

NPR chooses Salaam's Layla as Song of the Day

NPR: Salaam - Iraqi Maqam via Indiana

R.I.P. Mike Seeger: Smithsonian Folkways Interview

Kennedy Center: Alash Ensemble

Date: August 6, 2009 (Wednesday)
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Place: Millennium Stage (directions)
Tickets: free and open to the public on a first-come, firstj-serve basis

Alash Ensemble bring throat-singing to the Millennium Stage of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from Tuva, a republic in Russia.

Program:

• Syyn Miygak
• Xööngnüm-bile Xöörezhiir
• Dyngyldai
• Xomus solo (Nachyn Choodu)
• Eki A’ttar
• Chavadak
• Bady-Dorzhu Ondar Solo
• Bai-Taiga
• Ivizhi Men
• Bashtak-la Deesh Meni Kanchaar?

Kennedy Center:
Millennium Stage archives

Video:
YouTube - Chagatai
YouTube - at Barbes (Brooklyn)
YouTube - at Univeristy of Texas (Austin)
YouTube - at Grass Roots Festival (Trumansburg)
YouTube - at Iota Cafe
YouTube - at Make Music New York

Kennedy Center: Ahouach and Hassani

Date: August 5, 2009 (Tuesday)
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Place: Millennium Stage (directions)
Tickets: free and open to the public on a first-come, firstj-serve basis

Alash Ensemble
This concert showcases Berber and Arabic or sahraoui music, combining dance, poetry, and songs unique to the Ahouach and Hassani tribes from Assa, Morocco.

Kennedy Center:
Millennium Stage archives

Sponsors: Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco

Washington Film Institute: Roya Bahrami

Date: July 31, 2009 (Friday)
Time: 9:00 P.M.
Place: Carnegie Institution, 1530 P ST NW, Washington DC 20005 (directions)
Tickets: $12 at the door

Washington's own Roya Bahrami will perform on santur amidst a night of Iranian film:

• 07:30 PM: Film: The Crime (2004), directed by Mohammad Ali Sajjadi


• 09:00 PM: Performance: Roya Bahrami


• 10:00 PM: Film: Ethereal (2002), directed by Mohammad Ali Sajjadi

Video:
Roya's Channel on YouTube
Pre-Inaugural Concert January 19, 2009

Kennedy Center: Arab Hip-Hop

Date: July 28, 2009 (Tuesday)
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Place: Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center (directions)
Tickets: free and open to the public on a first-come/first-serve basis

The U.S. Department of State's Cultural Programs Division is sponsoring several musical artists visiting the U.S. fromSilvia Fernandez and Mauricio Trech from Argentina, Michelle Salazar from the Philippines, Hien Ngoc Pham from Vietnam -- and Hassan El Haf from Lebanon and Samer Samahneh from the Palestinian Territories.

Video:
Millennium Stage archive

Press Release:
U.S. Department of State

News:
CNN

Sponsors: U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs (ECA)

New Deal Cafe: Okbari

Date: June 28, 2008 (Sunday)
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 P.M.
Place: New Deal Cafe, 113 Centerway (Roosevelt Center), Greenbelt MD 20770,
(301) 474-5642 (directions)
Tickets: no cover

Appearing one night only at Greenbelt's New Deal Cafe are Amos Libby on oud and Eric LaPerna on tabla, also known as Okbari Middle East Ensemble. Okbari performs Ottoman classical and Turkish contemporary art music along with works from the Armenian and Anatolian folk traditions. Okbari also presents Arabic folk and classical music as well traditional songs from Greece and the Balkans. Okbari has released five albums since they formed in 1995, and play widely throughout the Northeast. Okbari has shared the stage in Istanbul, Turkey with the Kemani Serkan Ensemble and the Rumeli Meyhane Fasil Ensemble. Amos has appeared onstage as a guest percussionist in 2008 with the legendary Gypsy clarinetist Selim Sesler and his Trakya Fasil Grubu in Beyogl

Audio:
MySpace
YouTube

National Gallery of Art: Tara Artemis Kamangar

Date: June 21, 2009 (Sunday)
Time: 6:30 P.M.
Place: West Building Main Floor, West Garden Court of the National Gallery of Art, 6 Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington DC 20565 (location)
Tickets: "open to the public, free of charge. Admittance is on a first-come, first-seated basis, beginning at one half hour before each concert"

Tara Artemis Kamangar, pianist, performs solo the music of by Hossein, Khaleghi, and Prokofiev.

Video:
TaraArtemis.com

Composer Between Worlds: Dimitrie Cantemir

Date: June 11, 2009 (Thursday)
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Place: Meyer Auditorium, Freer Gallery of Art, (directions)
Tickets: free with online ticketing via TicketMaster

The Turkish trio Neva Özgen (kemenche), Murat Aydemir (tanbur), and Mesut Özgen (guitar) are joined by Lux Musica on baroque harpsichord, flute, violin, and viol.

Travel to 18th Century Istanbul and Moscow through the music of composer, scholar, and diplomat Dimitrie Cantemir, a flamboyant and brilliant figure who served both the Ottoman sultan and the Russian tsar. A speaker of eleven languages, he wrote a history of the Ottomans that inspired Edward Gibbon with The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His treatise on Turkish classical music included more than 350 original compositions. After he led an ill-fated rebellion against the Ottomans in Moldavia, Cantemir escaped to Moscow, where he helped translate the Byzantine Greek liturgy into Russian. Turkish instrumentalists join the Baroque music ensemble Lux Musica to recreate the sounds of Cantemir's Moldavian homeland and his careers in Istanbul and Moscow, where he organized lavish musical events with his daughter, a harpsichordist trained in the Italian style. Presented in conjunction with The Tsars and the East.

Sponsors: Tsars & the East exhibition at the Freer/Sackler Galleries of Art (image gallery)

TIME Magazine: The Culture Crunch

WRMEA reviews Kennedy Center's Arabesque

Kennedy Center: Nava Ensemble

Date: 2009.05.30 (Saturday)
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Place: Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center (directions)
Tickets: free and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis

Enjoy a concert featuring masterpieces of the Persian classical repertoire from an ensemble of Iranian musicians ranging in age from 8 to 20 years old, led by Shahriar Saleh with Nava Ensemble.