Salaam Ensemble

Melissa Moniz
By .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Friday - November 07, 2008
| Del.icio.us
Salaam musician John Bilezikjian plays the Middle Eastern oud as Souhail Kaspar performs on the Arabic tabla or drum

Five masterful musicians from the Arab-American music world will weave their musical talents with stories and cultural and personal narratives at the UH-Manoa Campus Center Ballroom next week Friday (Nov. 14) at 7:30 p.m.

The Salaam Ensemble: Music of the Near and Middle East will introduce exotic and rare instruments such as the oud (lute), nai (cane flute), kemence` (bowed spike fiddle) and darabuka or Egyptian tabla (goblet drum).


Its musicians are director John Zeretzke, a world music composer, musician and educator; adviser Dr. A. J. Racy. a music scholar, composer and nai (flute) player; master musician on the Persian santur (ancient dulcimer) Mashid Mirzadeh, a virtuoso on santur and one of the finest Persian santur players living in the West; master oudist and singer John Bilezikjian, considered to be America’s oud virtuoso; virtuoso drummer and Arabic percussionist Souhail Kaspar, known worldwide for his brilliant technique, exciting performances and teaching skills; and master percussionist of Iran Houman Pourmehdi, well-known for his diverse abilities as a musician, multi-instrumentalist and composer.

Together they have performed on the film soundtracks of Aladdin, The Mummy, The Black Stallion, Prince of Egypt, Troy and others.

Salaam Ensemble is described as a Persian, Arabic, Turkish and Armenian vocal and instrumental musical group, and it represents a tapestry of cultural diversity and common threads.


Tickets for the performance cost $10-$20 in advance, $15-$25 at the door. Cost for children under age 10 is $5 in advance and $10 at the door. Tickets are available online at http://www.etickethawaii.com, or by calling 483-7123. For more information, call 956-8246 or visit http://www.outreach.hawaii.edu/community.

For a sample of their music, visit http://www.zworldmusic.com/zworldmusic.html and click on Salaam Ensemble.

E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS Comments (0) |

Most Recent Comment(s):

Posting a comment on MidWeek.com requires a free registration.

Username

Password

Auto Login

Forgot Password

Sign Up for MidWeek newsletter Times Supermarket
Foodland

 

 



Hawaii Luxury
Magazine


Tiare Asia and Alex Bing
were spotted at the Sugar Ray's Bar Lounge