“Triple Current: Music of Arabia & America”

When:
October 23, 2020 @ 6:00 pm
2020-10-23T18:00:00-04:00
2020-10-23T18:15:00-04:00
Where:
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
1534 Mound Street
Sarasota
FL 34236
Cost:
Free
"Triple Current: Music of Arabia & America" @ Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Free admission; registration is required. REGISTER HERE.

“Triple Current” promises a gentle sonic sound from an extraordinary Hermitage artist that reflects the peace and beauty evoked by Selby Gardens as part of our “Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens.”

Composer, santur player, trumpeter and vocalist Amir Elsaffar will preview a new work that is set to premiere in November in New York. ElSaffar’s piece, commissioned by the Jazz Coalition, uses the currents of electronics as they’ve never been used before. Our Sarasota audience will be the first to hear this brand new work!

ElSaffar is an important voice in an age of cross-cultural music, cited as “one of the most promising figures in jazz today” by the Chicago Tribune. Expert trumpeter with a classical background, ElSaffar has created techniques to play microtones and ornaments idiomatic to Arabic music that are not typically heard on the trumpet. He is a purveyor of the centuries old, now endangered, Iraqi maqam tradition, which he performs actively as a vocalist and santur player.

Awards and commissions include the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Chamber Music America, Jazz Institute of Chicago, as well as traditional Middle Eastern ensembles, chamber orchestras, string quartets, and contemporary music ensembles, and dance troupes.  His commission performed at the Newport Jazz Festival made a clear emotional connection to the audience with its visceral passion reflecting the sectarian violence of the Middle East, receiving a rousing standing ovation.  With resonance as his governing principle, ElSaffar creates a unique microtonal musical environment that moves beyond the notions of style and tradition.

REGISTER HERE.

Audience members are invited to bring their own chairs and blankets.

Capacity will be limited, so RSVP is required. All seating will be socially distanced; audiences are requested and encouraged to wear face masks. 

In the event of rain cancellation, registrants will receive a notification via email no later than 3pm on the day of the event.