Journal

Global Week for Syria Comes to Painted Bride this June

Posted:
June 14, 2017
Topic(s):
News

Painted Bride Art Center is proud to announce its participation in the third annual Global Week for Syria with “A Letter From Syria” jazz performance put on by Kinan Abou-afach & friends. A Letter From Syria will take place on Saturday June 24th at 8pm as part of a celebration of Syrian talent and culture.

 

Syrian Music Lives has put on the Global Week for Syria for the past two years, and 2017 is its third installment. Syrian Music Lives aims to raise awareness of Syrian music in the media and host performances showcasing Syrian musicians. This year’s Global Week for Syria runs from Friday June 16th – Thursday July 6th and features hundreds of Syrian musicians and artists from all over the world.

Kinan Abou-afach

We are honored to take part in this initiative to highlight Syrian talent here in Philadelphia. For our concert, we are featuring Kinan Abou-afach and four other musicians as they perform “A Letter From Syria.” This performance will provide an evening of music saturated with unique scales, improvisation, and rhythmic grooves, all intermingled with freely constructed jazz. The original pieces within the show are rooted in Abou-afach’s recollections of his homeland Syria before the conflict, expressed through the Middle-Eastern-influenced modes and the rich harmonies of jazz. In this blending of temporal and aesthetics styles, this music performance looks to the future while paying homage to the past.

 

 

Other musicians featured include Hafez Kotain, an experienced percussionist in Arab rhythms who has performed alongside Kinan many times, most recently as part of the Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble. Kotain and Abou-afach were both awarded the Pew Fellowship in the Arts in 2013.

Hafez Javier Kotain

 

Joining Kotain and Abou-afach on piano is Julian Hartwell Horner, of Julian Hartwell Music. Hartwell released an acclaimed debut album this past November and has been called “one of the young lions of jazz in the making” by All About Jazz.

Julian Hartwell Horner

 

Doug Hirlinger, a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, will be performing drums that evening. He is known for his electronic side project Man From Nowhere and his pioneering work creating Beats with Code.

Doug Hirlinger

 

David Brodie, popular educator and revered jazz musician from Philadelphia, will be performing bass.

David Brodie

 

Join us for a night to remember and a celebration of Syrian talent during “A Letter From Syria.”

Kinan Abou-afach & friends join us on the mainstage Saturday, June 24th at 8pm.

Tickets on sale now—$20 in advance, $25 on day of show, with discounts for members + students. To purchase, click here or call us at 215.925.9914.