Aynur Doğan

Over the years Aynur has become one of the most well known musicians from Turkey and a representative for the Kurdish people. A best-seller among Kurdish folk albums, Aynur vocal style are praised not just in Turkish media, but also in international media. Musically she tries to blend Kurdish with Western music, interpreting her traditional repertoire in a modern way. She has collaborations with famous musicians and bands like world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Silk Road Ensemble, Kayhan Kalhor, Javier Limon, Kinan Azmeh, Mercan Dede, Salman Gambarov, Cemil Qocgiri, Morgenland All Star Band, Nerderland Blazers Ensemble, and  Sertab Erener.

Solo Piano with Ehud Asherie

A mainstay of the New York City scene with admirers worldwide, Ehud Asherie brings many selves to the piano bench: the dazzling jazz improviser with an astonishing range from ragtime to the present and future; the composer of surprising melodies; the living embodiment of Brazilian piano music with a special love for Ernesto Nazareth.  

Dirk Powell Band

Dirk Powell is a musician whose emotional understanding of American tradition has enabled him to expand on roots extending back more than nine generations in the southern mountains. His new group is a hard-driving, exciting testament to the power of the living old-time music tradition. Powell’s ability to unite traditional and historical forms with modern sensibilities has led to work with many of today’s greatest artists, from Sting to Jewel to Loretta Lynn to Joan Baez.

Leilehua Lanzilotti and Argus Quartet

Praised for playing with “supreme melodic control and total authority” and “decided dramatic impact” (Calgary Herald), the Argus Quartet has quickly emerged as one of today’s most dynamic and versatile ensembles, winning First Prize at both the 2017 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition and the 2017 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition. They will perform an evening of new music by contemporary indigenous artists including  Ahupua’a by 2022 Pulitzer finalist Leilehua Lanzilotti. 

Program: Leilehua Lanzilotti: ko’u inoa, ahupua’ a for string quartet (newly commissioned work), and beyond the accident of time for five voices/percussion; inti figgis-vizueta: mayu: the great river for string quartet and talamh (land) for string quartet

Steve Riley and Racines

The late Dewey Balfa once said “A culture is like a tree, you have to water the roots, but you can’t go cutting off the branches every time the tree tries to grow”.  Well, Racines (which means “roots” in French) both waters the roots and stretches outward.  A collaborative project of five gentlemen who are all well-known Cajun musicians in their own right, Racines explores the varying musical traditions that call Southwest Louisiana home: Cajun music, Zydeco, blues, and more.

Takae Ohnishi: Spring Night with Vivaldi and Bach

Travel back in time with harpsichordist and UC San Diego lecturer Takae Ohnishi as she teams up with friends from the San Diego Symphony to revel in the joys of a springtime evening in the Baroque era. It is certain to be a lighthearted evening filled with virtuosic performances of some of the great works written for the harpsichord. 

Featuring: Zou Yu and Nihira Awata, violins; Lily Josefsberg, flute, Chia-Ling Chien, cello, PJ Cinque, double bass

Program:
Duphly: Chaconne; Rameau: Clavecin Concert No.5; J.S.Bach: Sonata for harpsichord and cello No.3  BWV1029 and Brandenburg Concerto No.5 BWV1050; Vivaldi: Trio Sonata “La Follia” RV63

 

Atamira Dance Company: Te Wheke

Atamira Dance Company is the leading international creator of contemporary dance and performance. Based in Aotearoa, New Zealand, a remote and wild landscape where indigenous Māori stories are a powerful voice in the arts locally and, increasingly, internationally, Atamira is integral to the contemporary Māori performing arts conversation and movement.

The company performs it’s powerful new full-length dance work Te Wheke, which brings together Aotearoa’s leading names in contemporary dance. The piece explores the dimensionsof human experience symbolised by the eight tentacles of the Te Wheke—the Octopus, a powerful guardian on this journey from past into the future.

Connie Han Trio

Pianist and provocateur Connie Han has created an edgy blend of modern and traditional jazz with her incendiary Mack Avenue Records debut CRIME ZONE. At 26, this young lioness is on a fast-climbing trajectory to jazz stardom with rave reviews from the New York Times, Jazziz magazine, Downbeat magazine, and more. The New York Times describes her as “the rare musician with fearsome technical chops, a breadth of historical knowledge and enough originality to write tunes that absorb your ear easily.” Weaving in and out of the
tradition, Han pays tribute to McCoy Tyner, Mulgrew Miller, and Kenny Kirkland with her own unique edge and fire at the piano.

Esmé Quartet

Based in Germany, the award-winning Esmé Quartet was formed by four Korean musicians who had been friends since childhood and has since gained a worldwide reputation as a chamber ensemble of exceptional artistry and achievement. Praised for their warm sound and powerful stage presence, the quartet brings together the performers’ brilliant and distinct musical personalities to form a cohesive, close-knit group that is passionately dedicated to the string quartet repertoire.

Program: Borodin: String Quartet No. 2;
Fanny Mendelssohn: String Quartet;
Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 1

An Evening with David Sedaris

Master of satire and one of today’s most observant writers addressing the human condition, best-selling author David Sedaris returns once again with his acerbic humor, social commentary, and outlandish stories. Slashing through cultural euphemisms and political correctness, he will delight the audience with twists of humor and intelligence as he shares both published stories and works-in-progress.

Come early or stick around post-performance for Sedaris’s legendary book-signing sessions.