2017-2018 Residencies

For more information about these projects, contact us at diffusion@centredesmusiciens.com

Calendar of upcoming concerts here

Didem’s Log

Discover the world of composer and consummate Turkish kanun performer Didem Başar.

In the company of cellist Noémy Braun, violist Brigitte Dajczer, flutist Guy Pelletier and percussionist Patrick Graham, Didem presents a concert of original creations that navigate between the West and the East.

Didem Başar, kanun & musical direction

Noémy Braun, cello

Brigitte Dajczer, violin

Patrick Graham, percussion

Guy Pelletier, flute

Born in a family of musicians, Didem Başar plays kanun since her childhood. She masters Western and Turkish classical music, which influence her works. Since she arrived in Montreal about ten years ago, she has distinguished herself on the Canadian music scene and collaborated with many musicians from here and abroad.

Excerpt from the concert on June 1, 2018

Festival des musiciens du monde, Saint-Enfant-Jésus Church

Nazih’s Log

An accomplished oud player and eternal musical traveller, Nazih Borish explores new artistic pathways, with percussionists Joseph Khoury and Bertil Schulrabe as well as Turkish kanun player Didem Başar.

Nazih’s Log is an encounter between four virtuosos from differing musical traditions, where Arabic and Turkish strings engage in a dialogue with Arabic and Indian percussion.

Nazih Borish, oud & musical direction

Omar Abou Afach, viola

Didem Başar, kanun

Joseph Khoury, percussion

Nazih Borish began to learn the oud by himself at the age of five, listening to the music of many different cultures like flamenco, jazz, blues, indian music, etc. He created a new style of oud playing, always pushing back the limits of this instrument, and founded the Syrian Oud School in his hometown, Lattakia, where he got more than 100 students who now work as musicians. In 2016, Nazih moved to Montreal where he continues his musical work with friends and a new family of musicians.

Excerpt from the concert on June 1, 2018

Festival des musiciens du monde, Saint-Enfant-Jésus Church

Pooria’s Log

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Pooria Pournazeri offers a musical journey into the heart of the poetry of the great 12th-century Persian scholar Omar Khayyam.

This concert draws its musical influences from Iran to Kurdistan and features the vocal stylings of Raha Yousefi resonating with Pooria’s tanbur, Reza Abaee’s gheychak, Sheila Hannigan’s cello and Éric Breton’s percussion.

Pooria Pournazeri, tanbur & musical direction

Reza Abaee, geychak

Éric Breton, percussion

Sheila Hannigan, cello

Habib Hoseini, vocals

A versatile musician and composer, Pooria Pournazeri plays the tanbur, the daf and the setar. He explored both classical and popular musical repertoires with many different ensembles, in Iran as well as in Canada. He participated to many album projects, and his first solo CD, Zhoor (2010), was classified amongst the best albums of the year by the prestigious magazine Songlines.

Excerpt from the concert on June 2, 2018

Festival des musiciens du monde, Saint-Enfant-Jésus Church

Zal’s Log

Zal’s Log gives carte blanche to the artist Zal Sissokho to create new works with musicians from different backgrounds.

Alongside flamenco guitarist Caroline Planté, double bassist Mohamed Masmoudi and percussionist Miguel Medina, Zal presents an encounter between his native Mandinka culture and flamenco, thus redefining the boundaries of his traditional instrument, the kora.

Zal Sissokho, kora, vocals & musical direction

Mohamed Masmoudi, double bass

Miguel Medina, percussion

Caroline Planté, flamenco guitar & vocals

A kora player, singer and singer-songwriter, Zal Sissokho appears on stage and on CD with many artists and ensembles. He received many grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, participated in the show Ô from the Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas and contributed to the soundtracks of many movies.