Mar. 20-21: Apollo Chamber Players Presents DIVERSITY with Composer Reza Vali & Iranian-Born Percussionist Pejman Hadadi

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Katy Salomon | Primo Artists | VP, Public Relations 
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Apollo Chamber Players Presents DIVERSITY 

The Third Program in Season-Long We the People Series Celebrates
Houston’s Multicultural Character with Selections
from American and Middle Eastern Heritage

Collaboration with Iranian-born percussionist Pejman Hadadi in World Premiere
of Bandari by Iranian-born composer Reza Vali

March 21, 2025 at 7:00pm | Hobby Center for the Performing Arts – Houston, TX

Apollo Recently Named 2025 Ensemble of the Year by Chamber Music America

Preview Performance:
March 20, 2025 at 7:30pm | Visual and Performing Arts Center, Lone Star College

“...a young, dynamic ensemble...creating programs in response to current events.” – NPR

“superb and out of this world” – Gramophone

“recasting music for a diverse and multi-ethnic generation” – Strings Magazine

www.apollochamberplayers.org
 

Houston, TX (January 28, 2025) – The Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players, joined by percussionist Pejman Hadadi, will present a new original program, DIVERSITY, at Houston’s Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, on Friday March 21, 2025 at 7:00pm. Curated to celebrate the multicultural beauty of Houston, the most ethnically diverse city in the United States, this concert is the third in Apollo’s four-part We the People series, an extended focus on American democracy in both its ideals and imperfections.

Timed for the Persian New Year celebration, Nowruz, DIVERSITY reflects on the rarity of a nation founded on principles of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and diversity of thought – while raising the question of whether America will ever realize the promise of a truly pluralistic, multiracial society living in harmony. In keeping with this theme, Apollo will perform a multicultural program highlighted by the world premiere of Iranian-American composer Reza Vali’s Bandari, a composition for string quartet and percussion featuring Iranian-born percussionist Pejman Hadadi alongside Apollo. Houston-based Islamic Arts Society joins as a program partner, with IAS members’ art showcased as part of the program.

The program also features Palestinian-American composer Muyassar Kurdi’s Lullaby for the Children of the Sun, a lament for civilian casualties in the Palestinian conflict with Israel – alongside Israeli-born composer Gilad Cohen’s Three Goat Blues, a takeoff on the Jewish Passover prayer Chad Gadya (“one little goat”) that becomes a parable for our many possible fates in life, from oppression to salvation. American composer Daniel Bernard Roumain’s String Quartet No. 5 “Rosa Parks” completes the program. Apollo Chamber Players will present a preview performance of DIVERSITY on March 20, 2025 at 7:30pm at the Visual and Performing Arts Center, Lone Star College.

DIVERSITY follows in the footsteps of Apollo’s two previous We the People programs: LIBERTY – featuring the famed actor and activist George Takei – on October 5, 2024, and OPPORTUNITY, held January 4, 2025. Following the DIVERSITY program in March, the series will conclude with FREEDOM on May 10, 2025 at Holocaust Museum Houston. Timed to reflect on the 2024 presidential election, the four themed concerts illuminate key facets of the American system and character, drawing on sources from the poetry of Walt Whitman to Greek and Eastern European folk songs.

Celebrated by NPR as “a young, dynamic ensemble… creating programs in response to current events,” Apollo Chamber Players has drawn broad acclaim for its incisive thematic programming. On Monday, November 25, 2024, Chamber Music America (CMA) named the quartet as the recipient of its Ensemble / Ensemble Project of the Year Award, based on Apollo’s 2023-2024 theme of Silenced Voices, a series curated to shed light on censorship and oppression – whether through racial prejudice, authoritarian government or other forces – as well as its We the People series this season. Apollo will be formally recognized at an awards luncheon during CMA’s National Conference on February 15, 2025 in Houston. With the conference in its home city, Apollo will play a prominent role in the four-day gathering, appearing for two performance showcases on Friday, February 14, 2025. Performances will feature Apollo-commissioned works including Erberk Eryilmaz’s Sis Çani / Fog Bell, Jennifer Higdon’s In the Shadow of the Mountain and Wang Jie's The Night When You See Again. Apollo Founder, Director and violinist Matthew J. Detrick will also be a featured speaker at the conference.

Apollo Chamber Players Season 17: We the People

Concert 3: DIVERSITY
Thursday, March 20, 2025 at 7:30pm
Visual and Performing Arts Center, Lone Star College | Houston, TX

Friday, March 21, 2024 at 7:30pm
Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts | Houston, TX

Program:
Reza Vali – Bandari [World Premiere, Apollo Commission]
Muyassar Kurdi – Lullaby for the Children of the Sun
Gilad Cohen – Three Goat Blues
Daniel Bernard Roumain – String Quartet No. 5 “Rosa Parks”

Performers/Guests:
Apollo Chamber Players
Reza Vali, composer
Pejman Hadadi, percussion

Program Partner: Islamic Arts Society

CONCERT 4: FREEDOM
Saturday, May 10, 2024 at 7:00pm
Holocaust Museum Houston | Houston, TX

Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 2:00pm
Unity Houston | Houston, TX

Program:
Howard Hanson/Walt Whitman (Arr. Mark Buller) – Song of Democracy [World Premiere Arrangement]
Marcus Maroney – “What does Democracy Mean to You?” [World Premiere, Apollo Commission]
Works by International Commissioning Contest winners [World Premieres]
Ukrainian, Polish and Greek Folk Song set

Performers/Guests:
Apollo Chamber Players
Marcus Maroney, composer (UH Moores School of Music)
Mark Buller, composer
HSPVA choir

About Apollo Chamber Players
Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players “performs with rhythmic flair and virtuosity” (The Strad) and “recasts music for a diverse and multi-ethnic generation” (Strings Magazine) through globally inspired programming and multicultural new music commissions. A recipient of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Residency Partnership award, the ensemble has performed for sold-out audiences at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center, and is featured frequently on American Public Media’s nationally-syndicated program Performance Today.

In March 2024, Apollo’s censorship-inspired programming rose to national prominence as the featured story on NPR’s Weekend Edition, in which cultural reporter Neda Ulaby lauded Apollo as a “young, dynamic ensemble...creating programs in response to current events.”

Released on the GRAMMY®-winning label Azica Records, Apollo's With Malice Toward None album reached No. 1 on Amazon’s Hot New Release chart, and the ensemble’s catalog of records has been featured on hundreds of radio and media stations worldwide. The organization’s debut feature film, MoonShot: The Remarkable Journey of Apollo Chamber Players, won international accolades, including Best Documentary and Best Documentary Soundtrack at the Seattle, Vancouver, Houston and Screen ATX International film festivals. It is now available on Amazon Prime and Tubi.

A passionate advocate of contemporary music, underrepresented composers, and art reflecting the times in which we live, Apollo counts an expanding catalog of more than 50 commissioned works. As part of this endeavor, the ensemble concluded a bold initiative to commission 20 new multicultural works by the end of the last decade. 20x2020 features a diverse roster of the world’s leading composers and instrumentalists including Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Pamela Z, Leo Brouwer, Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, Vanessa Võ, and Tracy Silverman.

Apollo’s community partners include schools and universities, at-risk youth centers, refugee and veterans’ service organizations, and public libraries. The ensemble’s vanguard Library Voyage project, an initiative to perform in all Harris County/Houston Public Libraries, is the first of its kind in the nation. Apollo was founded in 2008 by violinist and music entrepreneur Matthew J. Detrick and violinist Timothy Peters.

Photo Credits: Reza Vali courtesy of the artist, Pejman Hadadi by Hamidreza Shirmohammadi, Apollo Chamber Players by Lynn Lane.

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