Flushing Town Hall to Present BALKAN ROMNI MEETS UKRAINE Concert

Flushing Town Hall's new concert series, Common Ground: Mini-Global Mashups, will present "Balkan Romani Meets Ukraine" on Sunday, October 10, featuring Eva Salina, Peter Stan, and Zhenya Lopatnik.

Each concert in the monthly series features a unique pairing of musicians of different practices and cultural identities, who will first perform in separate sets and then "mash up" together in collaboration. The small, intimate configurations pair together distinct solo or duo artists to create entirely new sounds rooted in old traditions.

The series has been curated by acclaimed trumpeter and composer Frank London of The Klezmatics, who has himself performed in Flushing Town Hall's original, large-scale Global Mashups series that is such a hit among Flushing Town Hall's devoted global music fans.

"Some of our concerts in this series will pair artists whose musical traditions are closely related, while others match artists whose musical language and traditions are totally unrelated. This is intentional," explains London. "Through each encounter, audiences get to watch artists solve a creative puzzle and discover common ground."

In Balkan Romani Meets Ukraine, audiences will enjoy the music of Brooklyn-based Eva Salina, a groundbreaking interpreter of Balkan Romani (gypsy) songs, and her duo partner, accordionist Peter Stan. Together, Eva and Peter pick up the threads of Balkan Romani music's interrupted legacy of empowered female voices, employing tenderness, grace, and friendship to keep these songs alive and evolving, tending to living traditions and sharing with new generations.

Audiences will also be treated to the music of singer, composer, and Jewish Educator Zhenya Lopatnik. Zhenya's musical projects include the Ukraine-based ensemble Kharkov Klezmer Band with Yuriy Khainson, the Israeli-Uranian band Zapekanka, Ternovka - Old and new Yiddish ballads, and Tender Yiddish - playing music from Jewish lullabies to ghetto songs. Most impressive, Zhenya speaks five languages: English, Russian, Yiddish, Hebrew, and Ukrainian.

"We look forward to continuing our celebration of global music this October, and we are thrilled to continue welcoming artists and audiences back to our Hall," says Flushing Town Hall Executive & Artistic Director Ellen Kodadek.

This fall, Flushing Town Hall has increased its in-person audience capacity to 50% and is adhering to the city's vaccine mandate for performance venues, while continuing to livestream for virtual audiences at home.

The Common Ground: Mini-Global Mashups series kicked off last month with Haiti Meets Middle East on September 12, featuring Haitian singer Emeline Michel, Israeli guitarist Dan Nadel, and their piano accompanist Yayoi Ikaw. To view the final piece in their mashup collaboration, visit: https://youtu.be/E8EFH9Tizr0?t=4609

The series will continue next month with Yiddish Meets Argentina on November 21, featuring Lorin Sklamberg and Sofia Rei with accompanist JC Maillard, followed by US-Africa Meets China on December 12, featuring Newman Baker and Fei Fei Yang with accompanist Zhihua Hu.

Each month's Mini-Global Mashup performance will be followed by a Q+A conversation between the artists and audience hosted by Frank London or other special guests.

For the series' full schedule and to purchase tickets, visit: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/mini-global-mashups

COVID Policy:

In adherence with Mayor De Blasio's Covid policy for performance venues, Flushing Town Hall will require all visitors, performers, and staff to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 with matching identification. Additionally, masks will be required at all times. For more details on Flushing Town Hall's Covid-safety measures and vaccine requirements, please visit: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/covid-safety.