Constantinople presents re:Orient

“re:Orient” immerses us at the crossroad of the fascinating aesthetics of Korean Pansori and Persian music, exploring these two “Orients” rich in cultures and sophisticated millennial musical heritages. Virtuoso musicians of Constantinople together alongside their fabulous guests from Korea explore various modes and rhythms, imagining new musical landscapes where the five cardinal directions—East, West, North, South, and Center—create a narrative illustrated with Pansori tales and Persian poems by Rumi and Hafez.

This creates a land where spirits and souls meet, and the stories of the two Orients converse, with the microtonality of the Pansori and Persian musical modes at the heart of this dialogue.

Artists
Kiya Tabassian, setar and artistic direction

In 2001, Kiya co-founded Constantinople with the idea of developing an ensemble for musical creation that draws from the heritage of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, of Europe, and of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Serving as its artistic director, he has developed close to 50 programs with his ensemble, which continues to be met with unparalleled acclaim by audiences around the world.

Jeong Sang Hui, pansori
Didem Basar, kanun

Born in a family steeped in music, kanun (Turkish zither) player and composer Didem Basar began her music education at the Istanbul Turkish Music State Conservatory when she was 11 years old. After completing the Conservatory’s kanun program, she continued training at the same institution and received a bachelor’s degree in composition.

Oh Byung Og, daegeum
Patrick Graham, percussion

Patrick Graham is an accomplished percussionist, improviser, composer and instructor from Montreal, Canada. Graham’s life-long fascination with percussion and passion for sound has led him on a globe-traversing journey, studying contemporary Western percussion, the frame drumming traditions of the Mediterranean and Middle-East, South Indian rhythm and Japanese taiko.

Hamin Honari, tombak and daf

Hamin Honari is a Iranian-Canadian hand drummer who has specialized on the Persian hand drums Tombak & Daf. He has focused on adapting his drumming style and technique to accommodate many different genres of music. He has performed with the Dastan Ensemble, one of Iran’s most well-known Persian classical music ensembles and has accompanied many amazing musicians and singers such as Salar Aghili, Parissa, Hossein Omoumi, Hossein Behroozinia, Saeed Farajpouri, and Itamar Erez. Hamin has been teaching for over 10 years and is working on creating his own courses for Tombak and Daf.

Lee Sang Hwa, sori-buk
Etienne Lafrance, double bass

Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 8:00pm
To purchase your tickets, visit: www.mbam.qc.ca/en/bourgie-hall/