Nordic Lights – February 18, 2023 LiveEvents February 12, 2023 899 Constantinople – Nordic Lights This collaboration sprung out of a profound interest to explore the sounds and musical gestures of Nordic music. Virtuoso and champion of the Hardanger fiddle, Benedicte Maurseth joins Constantinople to create music strongly influenced by nature and the spectacular landscapes of the North as well as by the evolving relationship of human beings with the natural world. Together, through a “North South” dialogue, they paint a picture-in-sound that engages the imagination and transports the listener into exquisite and profound worlds of well-being. Artists Benedicte Maurseth, Hardanger vièle / fiddle & chant Benedicte Maurseth is a remarkable musician, rooted in tradition yet a true visionary, the unique sound of her Hardanger fiddle displaying both the eloquent fragility and the raw power of the human spirit. Maurseth is a well-established and esteemed performer and composer on Norway’s music scene. She has studied with Hardanger fiddle master Knut Hamre for close to thirty years and is an alumna of the Ole Bull Academy. Maurseth has toured extensively as a soloist and in collaboration with others, both in Norway and internationally. She works closely with many of the leading artists across genres and artistic expressions such as Jon Fosse, Anne Marit Jacobsen, Rolf Lislevand, Mats Eilertsen, Berit Opheim, Merilyn Crispell, and more. Maurseth has written music for theater and film and other commissioned works for festivals and albums. The work Tidekverv, which was premiered in 2017, was awarded NOPA’s music prize, and her song «Very Full», which was specially written for the TV series Loki (Marvel Studio), ranked high on the Billboard list. Kiya Tabassian, sétar & chant Kiya Tabassian was born in 1976, in Tehran (Iran) and immigrated to Montreal in 1990. He has been trained in Persian music under Reza Ghasemi and Kayhan Kalhor. He studied musical composition at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with Gilles Tremblay and Michel Gonneville. In 1998, he co-founded Constantinople, a Montreal based ensemble which has earned an international reputation for its unique juxtaposition of early musical sources and the living traditions of the Middle East. Over the past decade, he has staged over 800 concerts in 125 cities in 25 different countries. Patrick Graham, percussion Over a two decade career based in Montreal, Canadian multi-percussionist Patrick Graham has been described as a “master improviser… on the border of several forms of traditional and creative music, embracing the world of rhythm as a whole” (Le Devoir). Patrick displays a talent for fusing an eclectic array of influences- ranging from Japanese percussion, through Indian and Irish rhythms, to Mediterranean frame drumming- as a well as a passion for new sounds and improvisation. This unique cross-genre approach is reflective of an extensive and ongoing study of the art of percussion, including a Bachelor of Music from McGill University in Montreal, as well as private training in several countries with Trichy Sankaran, Glen Velez, Carlo Rizzo, Zohar Fresco and Taichi Ozaki. In addition, Patrick has attended workshops and master classes at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Simon Fraser University, the Labyrinth centre in Crete and participated in the Taiko Koh-Kan workshops conducted by the group Kodō, on Sado Island in Japan. Alongside a busy performing and recording schedule, Patrick is also active as an instructor, teaching percussion and rhythm workshops in Canada, the USA, India, China and Japan, as well as for the Cirque du Soleil. Bourgie Hall Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 8:00pm To purchase your tickets visit: www.mbam.qc.ca/en/bourgie-hall/
