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Naser Musa, Adam del Monte
Live in Concert: The Naser Musa-Adam del Monte Ensemble
Sunday, Dec. 19, 7 p.m. *One Night Only*
This new group brings together two of the hottest instrumentalists on oud and flamenco guitar, performing fiery Arab, flamenco and Sephardic world music. The group sizzles and will rouse you from your seats. Musa and del Monte are an inspired duo, supported by virtuoso instrumentalists.
Proceeds from the concert benefitted the artists and Levantine Cultural Center's program fund, enabling us to bring you more high-quality arts programming.
The concert featured special guests, including Lory Tatoulian, Suzanne Teng & Gilbert Levy of MYSTIC JOURNEY, Houman Pourmehdi of Lian Ensemble, and Saleem (see below):
NASER MUSA A Jordanian of Palestinian descent, singer/songwriter Naser Musa started playing oud, a Middle Eastern lute, at an early age while living in Amman, Jordan. In addition to the oud, he also studied singing Arabic music. He moved to the United States in 1982 and earned a degree in music from California Polytechnic University, Pomona. Naser Musa performs regularly at concerts and festivals around the world and extensively with the prominent ethnomusicologists Dr. Ali Jihad Racy of UCLA, and Dr.Scott Marcus of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He has appeared on the same stage as some of the biggest names in Arabic music, including Lebanon's legendary Sabah, Lebanese superstar Ragheb Alame, and Egypt's Hani Shaker.
An oud virtuoso and a valued studio musician, Musa has composed, arranged, and recorded several projects in the Middle East and in the United States. His latest recording is "Khaliji" (RT Productions), a collection of folk songs from the Gulf region that he researched and rearranged. The album features Musa on oud, as well as lead and background vocals, with Souhail Kaspar on percussion. Musa has also recorded for the highly acclaimed artists Michael Sembello, Sabah, and others.
Musa's artistic versatility and sense of musical adventure have enabled him to collaborate with Arab, Persian, Spanish, and American musicians. He continues to experiment with the blending of musical elements and artistic styles. Throughout his career, his objective has been to combine Arabic maqams, a melody or series of phrases based on scales, with western elements in order to present a style of Arabic music that is understood and appreciated by the western listener. Musa's current project involves mixing elements of bluegrass with Arabic music to create a unique artistic statement.ADAM DEL MONTE One of the leading flamenco and classical guitarists/composers of his time, Adam del Monte has made it his life mission to fully express himself in these two genres, transcending labeling and convention. Always having incorporated a wide variety of musical styles from around the world into his compositions, del Monte has recently debuted his new progressive flamenco ensemble, namely a group of extraordinary musicians embarking on a journey of blending
flamenco with jazz and beyond in a group setting. Adam is the first prize winner of the International Stotsenberg Classical Guitar Competition 1997. Parallel to his classical guitar studies, del Monte lived and studied with the gypsies of Sacromonte in Granada, Spain. It was in Granada and later in Madrid where he absorbed the art of flamenco, learning and performing with the true maestros of Spain: Pepe "Habichuela", Paco Cortez, and Gerardo Nunez, to name a few. He performed with singers such as Enrique Morente in the Teatro Real, Madrid and Teatro Manuel de Falla in Granada; singer Lole Montoya on several occasions and on Spanish television.
He has performed for the last 20 years in Spain, England, France, Switzerland, Israel, Brazil, and the US.Del Monte has been collaborating with his spouse, renowned flamenco dancer, Laila del
Monte. Some of the venues where he performed include: The Getty, the Skirball Cultural Center, Hollywood Bowl, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, John Anson Ford Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Jordan Hall-Boston, Guitar Foundation of America guitar festivals in the US in the years '96, '97 and '99, in the prestigious court of Conde Duque in Madrid, and numerous concerts in guitar festivals around the world. Adam has collaborated with orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Madrid Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Radio Symphony, California Philharmonic and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.
Lory Tatoulian
Guest Artist Bios
LORY TATOULIAN is an actress and playwright whose work explores issues of cultural identity, gender, and ethnic community dynamics. Tatoulian's comedic character-studies define the core of her style. Her explorations take root in theatrical monologues that meld the comedic and absurd experiences of several ethnic groups and social milieus. Her character portraits range from an Armenian waxing lady in Glendale to a French Supermodel who wants to help democratize the world, to a hapless jazz singer from Russia, to a Californian car addict who contemplates her free-will on the freeway. Using the stage as her conceptual loom, Tatoulian weaves a dazzling fabric of stories, vignettes, and swatches of sardonic wit. Tatoulian recently ended the seven city tour of her one-woman show, “Sitting Twisted, Talking Straight”, which won Lory her New York Off-Broadway debut. Lory’s other theater experience includes lead and supporting roles in “Lysistrata,” “Joey and Maria’s Comedy Italian Wedding,” “Skirker” and “This Is Not A Pipe Dream.” Lory is currently performing her award winning one–woman show “Autosapiens" which received “Most Outstanding Performance and Writing” at the San Diego Actor’s Alliance Festival at the Lyceum Theater.
SUZANNE TENG and GILBERT LEVY are the leaders of MYSTIC JOURNEY, a contemporary world music band that tours internationally and was just named one of Music Connection Magazine's HOT 100 unsigned bands of the year, for the second year in a row (the only world music band to be listed). They won the INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS best New Age Artist in 2001 and are currently finalists for the same award for 2004 as well as for the best World Music Artist. BILLBOARD MAGAZINE calls their debut recording MYSTIC JOURNEY
"Impressive" and selected it as a "Critic's Choice." Their newest release "MILES BEYOND" is receiving extensive radio play and was selected by Public Radio International's show Echoes as one of the TOP10 ALBUMS OF 2003.
HOUMAN POURMEHDI is a master percussionist as well as a great ney player. He is well known for his diverse abilities as a musician, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. The co-founder of the Lian Ensemble, he has performed widely throughout Europe, North America and North Africa. His knowledge of traditional repertoire and intimacy with Sufi world are made to serve a very personal style of interpretation in his compositions. He has recorded many albums with the Lian Ensemble, including most recently "Khake Heyran" ("Bewildered Earth") and is a valued guest artist on other recordings.
SALEEM is a playwright and actor, perhaps best-known for his award-winning play, "Salaam-Shalom." He is also a talented vocalist of Palestinian love songs, a bellydancer and one of the founders of the successful nightclub scene, 1001 Nights. Saleem has devoted a great deal of his time and creative energy toward peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
What: Levantine holiday concert with the Naser Musa-Adam del Monte Ensemble
When: Sunday, Dec. 19, 2004, 7 p.m.
Where: Hollywood United Methodist Church, 6817 Franklin Avenue, at the corner of Highland, L.A. 90028. Ample parking on premises. Church phone: 323.874.2104. Advanced info phone: 310.559.5544. Phone day of concert: 310.402.6469.
Directions: From the 101 Freeway, exit at Highland, go south to Franklin, turn right into the first driveway.
Tickets: $25 Preferred, $18 General Admission, $12 Students. LCC Friends receive $5 off in the $25 and $18 categories. Advanced purchase recommended. You may also purchase tickets at the door [cash only].
ALL TICKETS WILL BE HELD AT WILL CALL UNDER YOUR LAST NAME.
Purchase seats by clicking on the button below. Once you are signed into Paypal [YOU CAN PURCHASE TICKETS EVEN WITHOUT A PAYPAL ACCOUNT], we will have your full name, address and email address. You will specify the amount of total purchase, not the number of tickets, which we can deduce by the amount of your payment. You will receive an email confirmation from us.
You may also purchase seats in advance by check made to:
Levantine Center
8424A Santa Monica Blvd., N. 789
West Hollywood, CA. 90069
Last postmark date for receipt is Dec. 14, 2004. ALL TICKETS WILL BE HELD AT WILL CALL UNDER YOUR LAST NAME.
You may also purchase tickets at the door [cash only].
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