Buffalo String Works is launching a new concert series with a very special segment of the city in mind – immigrants and refugees. The concert series is aptly called “The Bridge”. The latest Buffalo String Works effort is meant to strengthen the relationships between the community and its newest residents, through music, dance, and art. The “high-level, professional performances” will be free to attend, while being held at various West Side venues.
The initial concert, ‘Between Two Worlds’, will feature Decoda, an internationally-acclaimed NYC-based chamber collective. Decoda is a first Affiliate Ensemble of Carnegie Hall, and has garnered an impressive international following, by infusing their music with messages that broach the subjects of creativity, community, and identity. The concert will take place on Saturday, February 10, at 2pm, at the First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo – 1 Symphony Circle.
“This program is an exploration of a composer’s cultural background – their sense of homeland, folklore or traditional music – coupled with their personal, spiritual, or physical journey to a new place. It’s about traveling between worlds, and forging a connection between them,” says Caitlin Sullivan, Decoda Musician and Project Leader.
“Traveling between worlds can mean different things: often it’s a physical change of location, but it can also be a spiritual journey, a reflection or memory, or an exploration of the past. Most of the composers featured on this program traveled to or relocated to the United States, particularly to New York City. Many of these composers borrowed old cultural ideas and traditions – folklore, traditional music, a sense of homeland – to incorporate into their current musical styles and idioms. The merging of these worlds is the basis for these composer’s musical identities.”
Repertoire will include Bagatelles, Antonin Dvorak; Contrasts, Béla Bartòk; The Fence, The Rooftop, and the Distant Sea, Kinan Azmeh; Piano Miniauture No. 11 ‘for Syria’, Mohammed Fairouz; Clarinet Quintet, Paul Hindemith.
Learn more about Buffalo String Works here.
See Facebook event for more information.