Listening to Art, Seeing Music: Live Music Showcase

Date: Fri, Apr 06, 2018 01:00PM
Price: Free with Museum Admission

As Listening to Art, Seeing Music enters its final weeks, we offer an afternoon of programming bringing to life the intangible culture celebrated through the exhibition’s installations. Short performances in both the auditorium and in the yurt in the courtyard from a range of artists represent the Museum’s commitment to connecting cultures and showcases the range of talent that makes our Music City so vibrant. The afternoon will highlight a selection of emerging and established artists with whom we have worked and will continue to work. Following the performances, a jam session gives the performers and other members of our musical family the opportunity to engage in the kind of cross-cultural dialogue only possible through music.

Auditorium 1:15–1:35pm: Cris Derksen Trio
Yurt 1:50–2:10pm: So Long Seven
Yurt 2:25–2:45pm: Sina Bathaie
Auditorium 3–3:20pm: Synthesis
Yurt 3:35–3:50pm: Blisk
Yurt 3:50–5pm: Jam session

As some of these events take place inside the Mongolian yurt in the Museum’s courtyard, we suggest visitors arrive 15 minutes early as the sessions will begin promptly and are subject to yurt capacity. Programming is subject to change.

In conjunction with Global Toronto

Bios:

Cris Derksen is a JUNO-nominated cellist/composer originally from Northern Alberta who braids the traditional and contemporary in multiple dimensions, weaving her classical training and her Aboriginal ancestry with new-school electronics, creating genre-defying music. In addition to her own solo work, and work with a trio, which has brought her to venues and festivals around the world, she composes for dance, theatre, film and television, and has worked Buffy Sainte Marie, Tanya Tagaq, Kanye West, Naomi Klein, A Tribe Called Red and many others. Her third album, The Orchestral Powwow Project (2015), was a response to a perceived need to truly incorporate Indigenous artists in art that claims Indigenous credit and comprises Derksen on cello, six members of The Chippewa Travelers powwow group, vocals, Hoop dancing, timpani, and an eight-piece symphonic ensemble. crisderksen.virb.com

So Long Seven was brought together by community, and in turn, brings community together. With unique instrumentation (guitar, banjo, tabla, violin, and vocals) and richly textured orchestration, the diverse influences of the group not only span culture, but generation too – they cover four decades in age, with a member in the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. Their sophomore album, Kala Kalo translates to “black” in both Hindi and Romani, respectively. It refers to those who have been rejected and is a dedication to anyone who has ever felt ostracized, whether in a grander political framework or simply on a personal and community level. Featuring Ravi Naimpally (tabla), Tim Posgate (banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle), Neil Hendry (guitar), and William Lamoureux (violin). solongseven.com

Justin Gray’s Synthesis is an Indo-Jazz ensemble that explores a unique and captivating combination of creative jazz and Indian classical music. The ensemble features Gray on bass veena, an instrument he co-invented with Canadian luthier Les Godfrey, and compositions that blend the rich tonal pallet of the instrument with unique percussion instruments and the rich resonance of pitched Tibetan meditation bowls. With Derek Gray (drums), Ravi Naimpally (tabla), and Ted Quinlan (guitar). justin-gray.com

Toronto-based composer and santur player Sina Bathaie is known around the world for his unique style and approach toward Persian contemporary music. Born in Iran, Bathaie began studying santur at age seven under his father, Master Javad Bathaie and learned classical repertoire (radif) on the oud and percussion. Since moving to Canada, Bathaie has engaged in a range of collaborations, completed an artist residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts, composed original music for films, and has been featured at Luminato festival, In/Future, Small World Music Festival, Mundial Montreal, Open Mind, Quiet Strings, South Asia Calling, the Agha Khan Museum and more. sinabathaie.com

A new all-female synthesis of polyphonic Balkan and Slavic song, dance and movement backed by hypnotic percussion, Blisk represents a musical journey travelling through Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, Ukraine, Poland, Russia and beyond. The members of the group, all residents of Toronto, hail from Poland, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, made their public – and Aga Khan Museum – debut in December 2017 alongside JUNO-nominated Turkwaz, after performing in a slightly different variation (Balkan Electro Experiment) as part of our 2017 Nuit Blanche event.
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