Celebrity Series of Boston presents Stave Sessions, its signature new music series

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Stave Sessions, its signature new music series, March 17-20, 2020

Stave Sessions highlights the music of international and immigrant musicians, and culminates with Kronos Quartet’s Music For Change - The Banned Countries concert on March 21, 2020

Boston, MA -- The Celebrity Series of Boston presents the sixth annual Stave Sessions, its signature contemporary music festival March 17-20, 2020 at 160 Mass. Ave on the Berklee College of Music campus. The four evenings of Stave Sessions and the culminating concert on March 21, 2020 by Kronos Quartet at Sanders Theatre of their project, Music For Change - The Banned Countries, bring attention to the contributions of international and immigrant musicians.

“Celebrity Series has a long and vital tradition of presenting immigrant and international performers,” says Gary Dunning, President and Executive Director of the Celebrity Series. “In 1938, during our very first season, nearly half the artists on our stages were immigrants to the United States. This season, Stave Sessions and the Kronos Quartet bring new attention to the contributions from musicians and composers from around the world.”

Stave Sessions highlights contemporary musicians who take diverse approaches to their music, integrating musical training and non-conforming styles to deliver performances that defy standard labels. Shows take place at 160 Mass Ave., a unique and intimate venue located on the Berklee College of Music campus where floor-to-ceiling windows offer concertgoers an urban backdrop with views of the city and an upscale, cabaret vibe.

Tickets are on sale now at www.stavesessions.org.

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Kinan Azmeh’s CityBand
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at 8pm | Doors open at 7pm
160 Mass. Ave., Boston
Tickets: General Admission $35, Students $10
Download a photo of Kinan Azmeh
https://www.celebrityseries.org/productions/stave-sessions-kinan-azmeh-s-cityband/

Formed in 2006 in New York City, Kinan Azmeh’s CityBand immediately gained recognition for their virtuosic and high-energy performances. Azmeh is a graduate of both the Syrian Damascus University electrical engineering program and its Institute of High Music, a graduate of Juilliard, and a member of the Silk Road Ensemble, with whom he shares a Grammy Award. With CityBand, Azmeh, strives for a balance between classical music, jazz, and the music of his homeland Syria. Azmeh’s expressive clarinet meets Kyle Sanna’s rustic guitar, soaring over the dynamic and volatile backdrop of John Hadfield’s percussion and Josh Myers’ double bass.

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Meklit
Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at 8pm | Doors open at 7pm
160 Mass. Ave., Boston
Tickets: General Admission $35, Students $10
Download a photo of Meklit
https://www.celebrityseries.org/productions/stave-sessions-meklit/

Meklit is an Ethio-American vocalist, songwriter, composer and cultural activist, making music that sways between cultures and continents. Known for her electric stage presence, innovative take on Ethio-Jazz, and her emotive live shows, Meklit has rocked stages from Addis Ababa (where she is a household name) to San Francisco (her beloved home-base), to New York, London, Montreal, Nairobi, Rome, Zurich, Helsinki, Rio, Cairo, and more. Meklit is a National Geographic Explorer, a TED Senior Fellow, and a 2019 Artist-in-Residence at both Harvard University and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

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Sid Sriram
Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 8pm | Doors open at 7pm
160 Mass. Ave., Boston
Tickets: General Admission $35, Students $10
Download a photo of Sid Sriram
https://www.celebrityseries.org/productions/stave-sessions-sid-sriram/

Born in Chennai, India, but raised in the U.S., singer/songwriter/producer Sid Sriram represents an intersection of very different worlds. After graduating from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music Production and Engineering, he began building a style where Tamil, R&B, blues, gospel, pop, and Carnatic music clash and blend vibrantly. Sriram’s music is built on a foundation of South Indian Classical (Carnatic) music, with influences from Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Jeff Buckley, The Beatles, and Luther Vandross - a true hybrid sound.

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Sybarite5 and Ehsan Matoori
Friday, March 20, 2020 at 8pm | Doors open at 7pm
160 Mass. Ave., Boston
Tickets: General Admission $35, Students $10
Download a photo of Sybarite5
https://www.celebrityseries.org/productions/stave-sessions-sybarite-5-with-ehsan-matoori/

Sybarite5 has taken audiences by storm all across the US. From Visconti to Vrebalov and Coltrane to Radiohead, Sybarite5’s eclectic repertoire and commanding performances are turning heads throughout the music world. From the moment their bows hit the strings, this quintet of talented musicians takes the audience on an exciting ride that redefines the rules.

This program features Iranian santoor virtuoso Ehsan Matoori for an evening of new Persian inspired compositions. They will also perform works from “50 for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire,” Kronos Quartet/Kronos Performing Arts Association’s education and legacy project that is commissioning a free library of fifty contemporary works designed to guide string quartets in developing and honing the skills required for the performance of 21st-century repertoire. Twenty-five women and 25 men from around the world, including Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Rhiannon Giddens, Zakir Hussain, and Trio Da Kali's Fodé Lassana Diabaté and Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté are composing works for the project.

Ehsan Matoori was born in 1979 in Iran. At the age of 9 he began learning the Santoor based on Maestro Faramarz Payvar’s method. He studied instrumental and vocal Radif (the Persian musical repertory) with Parviz Meshkatian and Pashang Kamkar. In 2001 he became a Santoor teacher at the Center of Art and Culture in Isfahan and several music schools in Tehran. The traditional style of Santoor playing, however, did not satisfy Ehsan’s creative and searching soul. He was looking for expanding his techniques through learning a modern style of playing Santoor, so he took lessons from Ardavan Kamkar, one of the greatest contemporary Santoor players known for his distinct playing style and tuning techniques. After moving to the USA in 2013, Ehsan has performed with some well-known world music masters including Sandeep Das, Jamal Mohamed, Paul Sriji, Maeve Gilchrist, Matthew Coley, Andrew Bleck, and Taher Khan. Ehsan currently lives in Dallas, Texas, where he teaches Santoor. He is the founder and director of AramArt world music & art institute.

March 20, 2020 marks the release of Sybarite5’s latest release, “Live From New York,” featuring collaborations with Eshan Matoori.

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Kronos Quartet with vocalist Mahsa Vahdat:
Music for Change –The Banned Countries (Boston Premiere)
Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 8pm
Sanders Theatre, Cambridge
Tickets: $55-$65
https://www.celebrityseries.org/productions/kronos-quartet/

Watch the music video for "My Ruthless Companion" from Kronos and Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat's collaborative album Placeless: https://youtu.be/TK2sHz8Rs5k

Spotify playlist: Muslim Voices, features some of the works programmed in Banned Countries, among others.

San Francisco’s Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet, with Iranian vocalist Mahsa Vahdat, brings a Boston premiere program that includes music from their 2019 album Placeless.

As a direct protest to the 2017 Executive Orders limiting travel to the United States by people from largely Muslim-majority countries, Music for Change: The Banned Countries, highlights the rich diversity of artistic voices from Muslim majority countries, including works composed specifically for the performance and signature works from Kronos’ extensive repertoire.

"The program flourishes with a mutual exchange between performers and composers, finding a sonic common ground... In highlighting “The Banned Countries,” Kronos Quartet shows the limitations of closed borders and nationalism; it’s an irony of fate that we should hear the voices of Syrians, Palestinians, and Yemenis through an American string quartet while we bar these same people from entering our country and listen to them selectively in the context of our news cycles—not only because we repress the voices of those who are repressed in their own countries, but also because we ignore the full narratives of their lives against the shorthand of “refugee” or “civil war.” With this program, the Kronos Quartet implored us to listen—and, more importantly, to pay attention." – National Sawdust Log

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Stave Sessions and Kronos Quartet are sponsored by Susan & Michael Thonis and the Barr Foundation through its ArtsAmplified initiative. Additional support for Stave Sessions is provided by Michael & Debra Raizman, Yukiko Ueno & Eran Egozy, Randolph Hawthorne & Carliss Baldwin, and Marylen Sternweiler. These performances are also made possible in part by support from Celebrity Series LIVE PERFORMANCE! Arts for All Innovation Funds.

About Celebrity Series of Boston  

Celebrity Series of Boston was founded in 1938 by pianist and impresario Aaron Richmond. The Celebrity Series has been bringing the very best performers–from orchestras and chamber ensembles, vocal and piano music, to dance companies, jazz, and more–to Boston’s major concert halls for 81 years. The Celebrity Series of Boston believes in the power of excellence and innovation in the performing arts to enrich life experiences, transform lives and build better communities. Through its education initiatives, the Celebrity Series seeks to build a community of Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, lifelong, shared experience—on stages, on streets, in neighborhoods–everywhere.

Celebrity Series of Boston is grateful to our 2019-20 Season Sponsors Amy & Joshua Boger, and to the many individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies whose support helps fulfill our mission to present performing artists who inspire and enrich our community. Institutional supporters include the Barr Foundation through its ArtsAmplified initiative, The Boston Foundation, Stephanie L. Brown Foundation, The Catered Affair, Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Deloitte LLP, D.L. Saunders Real Estate Corp., Foley & Lardner LLP, Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Liberty Mutual Foundation, The Klarman Family Foundation, Massachusetts Cultural Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Outside the Box: A Production of the Boston Arts Summer Institute, Cynthia and John S. Reed Foundation, Royal Little Family Foundation, Stifler Family Foundation, Anonymous, and many others. celebrityseries.org

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