4th Annual A WORLD IN A TRANCE Festival Announces Lineup

A World in Trance, now in its fourth edition, has been host to some of the world's most captivating music, bringing people together in search of enlightenment and spirituality. This year's festival features the music of Afghanistan with Homayoun Sakhi, the outstanding Afghan rubab (lute) player of his generation, accompanied by the dynamic tabla (drums) player Nitin Mitta (Apr 27); the classical music of India with Ustad Shahid Parvez, one of the world's leading sitarists, accompanied by Nitin Mitta (Apr 28); and mystical Persian classical music with virtuoso Hossein Omoumi, one of the foremost Persian ney (flute) players, with the evocative vocalist Jessika Kenney, setar and tar player Amir Koushkani, and percussionist Hamin Honari (Apr 29).

The even will take place at ROULETTE, 509 Atlantic Ave at 3rd Ave, Downtown Brooklyn from April 27 - 29. Tickets to each event are $30; for students and seniors, they are $26. Click here to purchase tickets, or call the box office at 917-267-0363.

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HOMAYOUN SAKHI with NITIN MITTA: Afghanistan

Friday, April 27, 2018 at 8:00pm

This program marks a rare NY appearance of Homayoun Sakhi, who has established an international reputation as the outstanding Afghan rubab player of his generation. A master of the rubab, a skin-faced lute that is revered as the national instrument of Afghanistan, he performs the music of Afghanistan, which is rich in traditions that span the Middle East, Central Asia and North India. Sakhi was born in Kabul into one of Afghanistan's leading musical families, and studied with his father, Ghulam Sakhi - heir to a musical lineage that began in the 1860s - in the traditional form of apprenticeship known as ustad-shagird. Since immigrating to the US in 2002, he has composed for the Kronos Quartet and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, established a music school in Fremont, California, and appeared at prestigious venues and festivals, including Carnegie Hall, Paris's Theatre de la Ville, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. He will be joined by Nitin Mitta, one of the most sought after tabla players of his generation.

One of the world's leading sitarists, Ustad Shahid Parvez belongs to an illustrious musical family and has achieved success in not only preserving the tradition, but in pushing its boundaries to greater heights. He is one of the leading exponents of the Etawah gharana (tradition), which was popularized by the great Ustad Vilayat Khan, and belongs to the seventh generation of this musical lineage. He was initiated into the rich music of the gharana by his father Ustad Aziz Khan, who was the son of the legendary sitar and surbahar virtuoso Ustad Waheed Khansahab. Shahid Parvez was recognized as a child prodigy and started performing in public by the time he was eight years old. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Government of India's Padma Shri and the Sangeet Natak Academy Award. He is accompanied by the brilliant tabla (drums) player Nitin Mitta.

The renowned Hossein Omoumi, virtuoso of the Persian ney (flute) and accomplished vocalist, makes a rare NY appearance. His program of mystical Persian music is influenced by the Isfahan school, which is based on vocal repertoire and poetry; included are works by Rumi and Attar. Omoumi, born in Isfahan, began his musical education singing with his father and went on to study with masters Mahmoud Karimi, Farhâd Fakhreddini, and Hassan Kassai. He has been acclaimed for his tours and recordings with many of Iran's leading artists, and introduced significant innovations to the ney and Iranian percussion. He is joined by the highly expressive award-winning vocalist Jessika Kenney who has studied radif (Persian repertoire) with him; Amir Koushkani (setar, tar - lutes) who over the last three decades has concentrated on various aspects of classical Persian music, and composed widely for theater, orchestras and ensembles; and percussionist Hamin Honari, who has toured with the famed Dastan Ensemble and is the Artistic Director of Vancouver's Big World Band.