Friday Music Series 2017-2018 Archive
The Georgetown University Music Program’s Friday Music Series features free concerts on select Fridays at 1:15 p.m. in McNeir Hall, New North Building, *unless otherwise indicated.
FALL 2017
Friday, September 22, 2017, at 1:15 p.m.
Modern Musick
A collaboration with the GU Library Associates and the Special Collections Research Center
The early music ensemble-in-residence Modern Musick performs a program of 18th-century instrumental music from the Booth Family Center for Special Collections at Lauinger Library. The concert will be complemented by a morning talk, “A Neapolitan in Paris: The Extraordinary Career of Michele Mascitti,” by Guido Olivieri from the University of Texas at Austin.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, September 29, 2017 at 1:15 p.m.
Duo Noire
Duo Noire, featuring innovative classical guitarists Thomas Flippin and Christopher Mallett, will perform audience-friendly works that they’ve commissioned by highly accomplished contemporary female composers, including new pieces by Clarice Assad, Courtney Bryan, Gabrielle Herbst, Golfam Khayam, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Gity Razaz, and Feripsichorée Gabriella Piesmith.
Panel discussion immediately afterward, moderated by GU Prof. Anna Celenza, on “Women in Music: Current Disparities and Ways to Address Them.” Panelists include Alexandra Gardner, Shannon Gunn, Anna Pidgorna, Ariel Elizabeth Shelton, and Annika Socolofsky.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, October 6, 2017, at 1:15 p.m.
Victor Provost Quartet
The Victor Provost Quartet will be performing steel pan-driven jazz from his recently released, critically acclaimed album Bright Eyes.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, October 13, 2017, at 1:15 p.m.
Mdou Moctar
Co-presented with GU Film & Media Studies Program
Mdou Moctar, a Tuareg songwriter and musician based in Agadez, Niger, and his trio will play a rocking and raw electric set of original compositions sung in the Tuareg language, specifically a mixture of dialects from Aïr and Azawagh. Film screening of Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazouhai (Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Red In It) on October 12 at 7 p.m. in the New South Film Screening Room.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, October 27, 2017 at 1:15 p.m.
Rogério Souza, guitar
Tiago Souza, mandolin
Seven-string guitarist Rogério Souza, together with his nephew Tiago—the son of esteemed Brazilian mandolinist Ronaldo do Bandolim—on the mandolin and several distinguished guests, will play Brazilian choro.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, November 3, 2017, at 1:15 p.m.
david murray quartet
Featuring Prof. David Murray, drums.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, November 10, 2017, at 1:15 p.m.
Arco Belo
Leader Simone Baron, a fearless and charismatic presence known for engaging with a broad range of musical traditions and art forms, performs on accordion/piano with Arco Belo, her unique chamber/world/jazz ensemble also including violin, viola, cello, double bass, and percussion. Baron was recently an artist in residence at Strathmore and has also appeared at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Hirshhorn Museum.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, November 17, 2017, at 1:15 p.m.
Brent Green
Co-presented with GU Film & Media Studies Program
Self-taught animator Brent Green will present his films—which have screened at Sundance and been showcased in museum collections at MoMA and the American Folk Art Museum—paired with live narration, foley and improvised soundtracks by a band including Brendan Canty (of Fugazi), Georgetown University Music Program Prof. Ben Harbert, and Kate Ryan. The Globe and Mail (Canada) calls it “interdisciplinary work that breaks the documentary mold.”
NOTE: VENUE CHANGED TO DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, GONDA THEATRE
FREE
Friday, December 1, 2017, at 1:15 p.m.
Annual Holiday Concert
with the GU Jazz Ensemble
Professor Aaron Broadus, music director
The Georgetown University Jazz Ensemble, led by Prof. Aaron Broadus, presents a program of classic holiday standards.
NOTE: VENUE CHANGED TO DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, GONDA THEATRE
FREE
SPRING 2018
Friday, February 2, 2018, at 1:15 p.m.
GU Chamber Singers
WITH MODERN MUSICK
Jesuit Heritage Week 2018
The Georgetown University Chamber Singers, under the direction of Prof. Frederick Binkholder, perform with the early music ensemble-in-residence Modern Musick as part of Jesuit Heritage Week 2018. The program features the Mass nr. 4 in F (1790) by Johann Melchior Dreyer (1747-1824), who studied at the Jesuit Gymnasium in Ellwangen and composed a great amount of music for the church. The Georgetown University Friday Music Series features acclaimed artists in free concerts at 1:15 p.m. on select Fridays.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, February 9, 2018 at 1:15 p.m.
Huda Asfour, oud
Kamyar Arsani, daf
In partnership with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
A Palestinian oud player and an Irani Daf player explore the region’s rich musical repertoire. The duo delves into the universe of Mashriq rhythms to create a transcending musical and vocal dialogue, influenced by the zaar, sufi thikr and more. The Georgetown University Friday Music Series features acclaimed artists in free concerts at 1:15 p.m. on select Fridays.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, February 16, 2018, at 1:15 p.m.
Lubana Al Quntar, soprano
Eylem Basaldi, violin
April Centrone, percussion and oud
From Syria with Love
In partnership with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
Syria is one of the global centers of traditional Arabic music—with origins of its rich musical heritage evident from the clay tablets (cuneiform scripts) in the ancient city of Tell Hariri, to the discovery of the Hurrian hymn, the oldest surviving substantially complete work of notated music in history, in the northern city of Canaanite in the Ugarit kingdom. Bridging centuries, this program highlights the creative brilliance of Syria through Syriac music sung in Aramaic (the language of Christ); a variety of Muwashahat (strophic songs sung in classical Arabic) from Aleppo; and folk song cycles originally sung by women at gatherings in Damascus. Lubana Al Quntar, an acclaimed vocalist of opera and traditional Arabic songs who became the first Syrian opera singer to attain international recognition has performed as part of the Silk Road Festival in Tokyo, and at the Kennedy Center and Library of Congress in DC. She headed the Syrian National Conservatory’s Department of Opera Singing and launched the Department of Classical Arabic Singing, and came to the U.S. in 2012. The Georgetown University Friday Music Series features acclaimed artists in free concerts at 1:15 p.m. on select Fridays.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, February 23, 2018, at 1:15 p.m.
Jorge Glem, cuatro
With support from the Doyle Film and Culture Series
2018 Grammy-nominated cuatro player Jorge Glem hails from Cumaná, Venezuela, and has shared the stage with world-renowned musicians such as Paquito D’Rivera. He is also a three-time Latin Grammy nominee with his ensemble C4Trio, and fuses the cuatro, a traditional stringed instrument, with genres such as jazz, salsa, bluegrass, rock, and pop. The Georgetown University Friday Music Series features acclaimed artists in free concerts at 1:15 p.m. on select Fridays.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, March 16, 2018 at 1:15 p.m.
amy K Bormet’s Ephemera with Isabel Escalante and ana barreiro
Part of the Washington Women in Jazz festival
Amy K Bormet’s Ephemera began as an experiment to combine the composer’s love of poetry and art song with improvisation and has grown to incorporate 21st-century composed music, free jazz, and folk music of the world. Bandleader pianist/vocalist Bormet carves out a space for musicians of different genres to explore through her compositions and the ensemble’s collective arrangements.
Venezuelan violinist Isabel Escalante performs internationally as a classical musician and now turns her attention to interpreting jazz and folk music of the world. Driven by the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, Isabel created “Together in Music,” a series of concerts to raise awareness, give financial support, and donate food/medical supplies to families.
Ana Barreiro is a jazz drummer based in Los Angeles who carries her Brazilian roots to myriad musical spaces. Originally from Poços de Caldas, a town in the Southeast of Brazil, she was awarded a Latin America Scholarship from Berklee College of Music and received her master’s degree from the University of Southern California.
Program includes selections of new music and poetry from Venezuela, Brazil, and Los Angeles. Georgetown University Friday Music Series features acclaimed artists in free concerts at 1:15 p.m. on select Fridays.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, March 23, 2018, at 1:15 p.m.
Jerome Barry, baritone
Edvinas Minkstimas, piano
Songs of the Soul of the Jewish People
The program features selections of Eastern European Jewish melodies, songs, and arrangements for piano with voice. Baritone Jerome Barry performed with the Boston Pops, the Baltimore and National Symphonies, and gave the first concert at The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1994. Pianist Edvinas Minkstimas is a Steinway Artist and winner of numerous international piano competitions and serves as Artist in Residence of the Embassy Series and The Phillips Collection Music Series in Washington and Chair of the Piano Department at the Washington Conservatory of Music. The Georgetown University Friday Music Series features acclaimed artists in free concerts at 1:15 p.m. on select Fridays.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, April 6, 2018, at 1:15 p.m.
Betsayda Machado & Parranda El Clavo
Betsayda Machado is the voice of Venezuela. Raised in the small village of El Clavo in the region of Barlovento, her recent rural recordings with lifelong friends Parranda El Clavo brought new attention to the Venezuelan Afro-Soul genre “Tambor,” a spirit-shaking percussion and voice fiesta said to make dancers float. After their New York City debut in January 2017, New York Times’ Jon Pareles called Betsayda and Parranda: “The kind of group that world-music fans have always been thrilled to discover: Vital, accomplished, local, unplugged, deeply rooted.” The ensemble is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The Georgetown University Friday Music Series features acclaimed artists in free concerts at 1:15 p.m. on select Fridays.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, April 13, 2018, at 1:15 p.m.
Ozan Aksoy, vocals, and the bağlama (long-necked lute)
Music from Anatolia
In partnership with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
Ozan Aksoy performs instrumental and vocal musical examples from the rich and diverse traditions that have made their homes in Anatolia and the Middle East. The program will feature music from Turkish, Kurdish, Alevi, Armenian, Arabic, and Persian folk and urban repertoires. The Georgetown University Friday Music Series features acclaimed artists in free concerts at 1:15 p.m. on select Fridays.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, April 20, 2018, at 1:15 p.m.
Kareem Roustom
In partnership with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
Syrian-American composer Kareem Roustom has been active on the international music scene for over a decade having written commissioned works for the Kronos Quartet, Daniel Barenboim and many others. He has even written arrangements for Shakira and Beyonce, and his work in film has earned him an Emmy nomination. Roustom has been described by The Chicago Tribune as “a gifted and accomplished artist…one of the most prominent active Arab-American composers,” and by BBC Radio 3’s classical music host, Tom Service, as “among the most distinctive [composers] to have emerged from the Middle East.” This program will feature three chamber works that are at once rooted in tradition but very much looking forward. As has been the case with much of Roustom’s music since 2011, each of these works focuses on the devastating violence in his native Syria offering a wide range of emotions from anger, to mourning and to hope. The Georgetown University Friday Music Series features acclaimed artists in free concerts at 1:15 p.m. on select Fridays.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE
Friday, April 27, 2018, at 1:15 p.m.
Darwish Dancing with Takht Ensemble
In partnership with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
Khaled AlMaoulaoui is a Syrian Dervish dancer and acclaimed percussionist hailing from a family of Sufi performers. Khaled will be accompanied by a traditional Takht ensemble (Middle Eastern orchestra), including Huda Asfour, oud and qanoun, Kamyar Arsani, daf and Chakib Hillali on oud and Nay. The ensemble will present traditional Sufi and Syrian musical repertoire. Whirling dervish dance is a form of Sama or physically active meditation which originated among Sufis, emphasizes universal love, peace, acceptance of various spiritual paths and a mystical union with the divine, the dancing of whirling dervishes, who originated in the 13th century as followers of the poet and Muslim mystic, Rumi. The Georgetown University Friday Music Series features acclaimed artists in free concerts at 1:15 p.m. on select Fridays.
McNEIR HALL, NEW NORTH BUILDING
FREE