Bourgie Hall presents

Ensemble Oraciones – Ottoman Splendours

The Ensemble Oraciones draws from the vast repertoire of Sephardic, Greek and Turkish-Ottoman songs developed during the Ottoman Empire. Performed in Ladino, Greek and Turkish, these songs highlight a rich musical heritage.

Artists
Lamia Yared, voice, oud

Born in Lebanon, Lamia Yared grew up in Montreal. During her travels to Greece, Turkey and Lebanon, she met renowned masters in Arab and Turkish classical music, and thus refined the art of Eastern chant and Oud playing.

Lamia performed shows in several events, including the Festival Accès Asie, the Festival du monde arabe, the Festival des cultures syriennes de Montréal, and she also played in some Maisons de la culture. A recipient of several grants from the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Canadian Council for the Arts, Lamia regularly follows advanced training internships.

Didem Basar, kanun

Born into a family steeped in music, kanun (Turkish zither) player and composer Didem Başar began her music education at the Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State Conservatory when she was eleven years old. After completing the Conservatory’s kanun program, she continued training at the same institution and received a bachelor’s degree in composition. Her interest in examining the effects of music on society led her to pursue a master’s degree in the musical analysis of Mevlevi music at Marmara University. She gave lectures on Turkish music and kanun playing techniques at Haliç University’s Turkish Music Conservatory and the Istanbul University State Conservatory from 2001 until she moved to Canada in 2007. Relocating to Montreal has given Didem the opportunity to reinterpret her music in a new environment whose vividness is the result of the convergence of manifold cultures flowing from different parts of the world.

Sheila Hannigan, viola

Nova Scotian cellist Sheila Hannigan graduated from the Université de Montréal with a Master’s in Performance under the direction of M. Yuli Turovsky. She also participated in masterclasses in Banff and Switzerland, and was the recipient of a bursary from the CALQ to study non-classical improvisation techniques with Eugene Friesen of the Berklee College in Boston. She can be heard regularly with Montreal ensembles such as l’Orchestre Métropolitain and La Piétà. Also interested in non-classical music, Ms Hannigan is a member of QAT, the arab-jazz ensemble Absinthe, Cordâme Trio, Persian singer Azam Ali, and the Romulo Larrea Tango Ensemble, with whom she has toured Europe, the US and Canada. She is presently touring with Danse Lhasa Danse. Ms Hannigan also regularly collaborates with popular, world music, and jazz artists, such as Pierre Lapointe and Diane Dufresne. She was a guest soloist for the Canada-wide tour of The Tea Party, and can be heard on soundtracks of many films and multidisciplinary projects.

Olivier Bussières, percussion

Musician based in Montreal, Olivier Bussières has had a passion for several years for hand percussion. Always looking for new encounters, music is his favourite tool to discover new cultures. The plurality of instruments he plays has led him to build bridges between different traditions. From North African music to Brazilian chorinhno and Basque folklore, he aspires to create unifying projects that everyone can identify with.

A versatile artist, he can be seen performing as much in jazz, classical, folk and pop scenes. In 2013, he completed a bachelor’s degree in classical percussion at Laval University. He then went to Israel to study Middle Eastern percussion with Yshai Afterman. He continued his training with renowned musicians such as Mark Moshayev, Bernhard Schimpelsberger and Patrick Graham.

Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 7:30pm
To purchase your tickets visit: www.mbam.qc.ca/en/bourgie-hall/

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