Music of Strangers

Whe c a m i t he ,
we t o r i f ce ,
co c g a c in ni f t .
Jam Session- Clip- 1:32-4:08

Opening piece- 1:32 to 4:01

Kinan Azmeh
Syrian clarinetist and composer
Utterly distinctive sound across many genres of music
Plays Arabic/Jazz soulful music
Graduate of Juilliard, Damascus University, and City
University of NY.
Parents are still in Damascus
What is home? Where is it? Its basically the place you
want to come to without having to justify it.
Serves as artistic director of Damascus Festival
Chamber Players, a Pan-Arab ensemble dedicated to
contemporary music from the Arab world.
Member of Yo Yo Mas Silk Road Ensemble for which
he won a Grammy in 2017.
Kayhan Kalhor- Kamancheh
Traditional Iranian music/Kurdish music
Left Iran in his 20s
Has worked with many famous Persian,
Indian, and Turkish performers
Joined the Silk Road Ensemble in 2000

Influence: haunting melodies, deeply

tortured pieces of music
Lots of pain in his writing
Brings what it feels like to be far from
home into his music
Wu man
Recognized as the worlds premier Pipa virtuoso
and leading ambassador of Chinese music.
Adventurous and sophisticated art talent led
her to work across the arts to break the
boundaries of culture and music and expose her
to more audiences.
Yo-Yo Ma said silk road ensemble is a faded silk
if without her

Pipa
The Pipa is a lute-like instrument with a history of
more than two thousand years
With long straight-necks and round resonators
Wooden sound boards were played with a forward
and backward plucking motion
Consists of twenty-six frets and six ledges arranged
as stops and its four strings are tuned respectively
to A,D,E,A
Rich tonal qualities and resonant timber give its
music expressiveness and beauty
 Christina Pato - Galician Bagpipes
Ground-breaking performer: the first female gaita
player to release a solo album (1998); unconventional
popular style
Has faced some criticism due to her playing style.
Moved to NYC in 2005 and didnt play the bagpipes
for a number of years.
This is an amazing combination of people from all around
the world that share a curiosity and passion Its really
beautiful for me to try and put my instrument in their
tradition. To me the Silk Road Project is more than just
music, its education. To say that its important is an
understatement.
Passionate about education - works as a learning
advisor for the Silk Road, also an artist-in-residence at
many universities
Emphasises importance of heritage and cultural
exchange - founded the Galician Connection Festival
Yo Yo Ma

Founder of Silk Road

Multi-faceted career is a testament to his continual search to find news ways to
communicate with audiences and to his personal desire for his artistic growth and
renewal.
Strives to find connections that stimulate the imagination
Over 100 albums and 18 Grammy awards
His work focus on the transformative power music can have in individuals lives, and
increasing the number and variety of opportunities audiences have to experience music in
their communities.
CLIP- 5:56-8:53
 Putting It Together

Early workshops: lots of confusion, lots of jamming

Feeling out each persons style and methods of working
Later workshops: more instruments added to the ensemble,
more sounds, more styles
Adding visual aspect
Clip: Purpose 1:28:10- 1:30:21
Putting It Together

Relationships between artists and audience

Clip: Bagpipes- 1:06:04-1:06:53
Clip: Kamancheh- 22:07- 23:26
Cultural Boundaries

Trust is the basis of all relationships

Pre-youtube, no smartphones, no instant connections like we
have now
Post 9/11- backlash towards Middle Eastern artists and
immigrants in general
All came back to trust between the artists
"Offers an INSPIRING LOOK at creative people from very different walks of life
who nonetheless communicate beautifully with one another. They dont need to
speak a common language: THEIR DAZZLING MUSIC SAYS IT ALL -
Washington Post
Purpose of Film

To encourage cultures to come together and learn from each other

To show how music is a universal language and is a unifying force
Film was a huge success with many positive reviews
Go check out their Spotify channel!
Issues Raised By Film

Highlight different experiences from around the world and how

that has influenced music
Developing musical talent through hardship and moving away
from home country
How we view different cultures
Communication through music and physicality instead of words
Imagine
Clip: Imagine- 1:30:55- 1:31:38