Robert Browning Associates Celebrates 42 years of Presenting World Music Events in NYC With the Music of Egypt, Tunisia, India & Crete
By: Stephi Wild Aug. 03, 2018
Robert Browning, called "the entrepreneur who almost single-handedly created and filled New Yorkers' passion for world music" in the New York Times, has presented world music since April 1976. The next few months feature music from Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, India and Crete. From his years at the Alternative Center for International Arts / Alternative Museum to his 26-year tenure at World Music Institute (which he co-founded and directed from 1985 - 2011) and his past five seasons as the director of Robert Browning Associates, he has presented over 1,800 concerts of world music and dance from internationally renowned figures and emerging artists from over 100 regions.
Arab American Arts Institute & Robert Browning Associates present
Sunday, August 12, 2018 at 7:30pm
Sonia M'barek & Simon Shaheen with Qantara
Songs from Cairo to Tunis
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, 129 W. 67th Street (between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.), NYC (tel 212-501-3330)
The period from 1925-1955 has been considered the golden age of traditional Near Eastern and North African music. Both regions enjoyed artistic creativity and innovation, particularly in centers like Cairo, Damascus and Tunis. In this fascinating program, classical vocal and instrumental works from the Egyptian, Syrian, Andalusian and Tunisian repertoires, as well as original pieces, will be performed by two leading artists in the Arab world: the internationally renowned Tunisian singer Sonia M'barek, who has been noted for her exquisite and soul-piercing vocals, and 'ud (lute) and violin master Simon Shaheen, one of the most influential Arab musicians, educators, and composers of his generation. They will be joined by Shaheen's acclaimed Qantara ensemble composed of Bassam Saba (nay - reed end-blown flute, Western flute), Layth Siddiq (violin), and Tareq Rantisi (hand percussion).
Tickets: $30; students $25
Robert Browning Associates presents
Friday, September 21, 2018 at 8:00pm
Mohamed Abozekry & Karkadé
Popular, Sufi & Classical Music of Egypt
Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue at 3rd Avenue, Downtown Brooklyn (tel. 917-267-0363)
Mohamed Abozekry, an oud (lute) master still in his mid-20s, brilliantly explores three Egyptian musical influences: classical Arabic music, Sufi music of northern Egypt, and music popular along the Nile River. Earning a reputation as a musical prodigy, he became the youngest oud professor in the Arab world at the age of 15 and later went on to tour the US as part of the groundbreaking The Nile Project. With Karkadé, his new project that he is bringing to the US for the first time, he evokes the fragrant hibiscus tea found in Cairo and the eponymous French café at which the ensemble was born. He is joined by Farag Hamouda (ney - flute), Lotfy Aly (violin), Hany Bedeir (riqq - percussion), and Aly Mohamed (dehola/daf - percussion).
Tickets: $25; seniors, students $21
The presentation of Mohamed Abozekry & Karkadé is part of Center Stage, a public diplomacy initiative of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts in cooperation with the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations, with support from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. General management is provided by Lisa Booth Management, Inc.
This concert is supported in part with public funding provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State legislature
Robert Browning Associates presents
Saturday, September 29, 2018 at 8:00pm
Mita Nag, Hassan Haider & Subhen Chatterjee
Classical Music of India
Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue at 3rd Avenue, Downtown Brooklyn (tel. 917-267-0363)
This special concert brings together three outstanding performers of Indian music and provides an opportunity to hear the shehnai (oboe), an instrument rarely heard in the Indian classical repertoire today. The trio of shehnai, sitar (lute) and tabla (drums) will be featured together throughout the concert. Mita Nag, a master of improvisation, represents the sixth generation of sitar (lute) players in her family. The daughter and disciple of veteran sitarist Manilal Nag and granddaughter of Gokul Nag, she is an exponent of the Vishnupur gharana (school), which retains the depth, resonance and vitality of the ancient meditative dhrupad style. The brilliant shehnai player Hassan Haider, son and disciple of the famed Ali Ahmed Hussain, has performed and toured internationally with his father and other notable artists. Subhen Chatterjee, a powerful tabla player and disciple of Swapan Chaudhuri, has performed with many of India's major artists, including Bhimsen Joshi, V. G. Jog and Pandit Jasraj, and created the fusion bands Karma and Friends of Drums (with Sivamani). The first half of the program will feature ragas opening with alap (unmetered improvisation without tabla); in the second half, the artists will perform light classical pieces, including compositions by Girija Devi. The concert is performed in tribute to this late legendary singer.
Tickets: $30; seniors, students $26
This concert is supported in part with public funding provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State legislature.
Schimmel Center at Pace University presents
Saturday, October 6, 2018 at 7:30pm
L. Shankar
Indian Classical Music
Schimmel Center at Pace University, 3 Spruce St (betw Park Row & Gold St.), NYC
L. Shankar (aka Shenkar) is a virtuoso violinist and vocalist renowned for his deeply soulful performances of Indian classical music. Since playing his first solo concert at the age of seven, he has gone on to accompany many of South India's leading vocalists and become a major soloist. In the 1970s, with John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain, he founded the legendary Indo-jazz group Shakti, which toured the world to rapturous reception. In the 1980s, he introduced a new instrument, a 10-string double violin capable of covering the whole range of the orchestra's string section from violin to double bass. With this innovative violin he has continued to expand the international audience for Indian music, often combining North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) styles. In this rare NY appearance, he will be accompanied by tabla maestro Abhijit Banerjee and percussionist Chris Garcia, who will play the South Indian ghatam (clay pot) and kanjira (frame drum).
Single tickets start at $29
Tickets go on-sale August 7 (subscriptions) and August 14 (single tickets)
Curated by Robert Browning Associates.
Carnegie Hall in partnership with Robert Browning Associates presents
Saturday, November 17, 2018 at 8:30om
STELIOS PETRAKIS CRETAN QUARTET
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, 57th Street & 7th Avenue, NYC
Led by lyra (fiddle) virtuoso Stelios Petrakis, the quartet performs the spirited and often hypnotic dance music and epic songs and laments of Crete. Played on traditional fiddles, lutes, and bagpipes, their repertoire includes arrangements of traditional pieces and new compositions by Petrakis that reflect a range of Mediterranean and Eastern influences. Petrakis (lyra, laoto - lute) is joined by Thanassis Makrokostas (askomandura (bagpipes), cello-lyra, dance), Andonis Stavrakakis (mandolin, laouto, vocals), and Giorgos Manolakis (laoto, vocals).
"Stelios Petrakis..... is a leading figure in the lively Greek roots music scene." -NPR
Tickets: $40, $48
Public on sale date: 08/20/2018; subscriber/donor on sale date: 08/06/2018
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