Neotolia Concert

99 Westcliff Road,Weston MA 02493

06 May, 2022

Description

American Academy of World Music Presents Turkish Middle-Eastern Fusion Band Neotolia Neotolia is a world-fusion jazz band that explores traditional and tradition-inspired pieces through the lens of contemporary composition, jazz, world music, and improvisation. In our music, we welcome musicians worldwide to add their own voices to complex yet elegant pieces. In the May 6th Concert in Henderson House, for the first time after the pandemic, Neotolia will perform their original compositions and unique arrangements blending traditional Turkish instruments (Ney, Baglama, Kemence, Ud) into their sound. The band will perform these pieces in addition to their unique interpretations of old rock hits first time to the Boston audience. http://www.neotolia.com/ Admission: $50 (Light Snacks and Soft Drinks Included) PerformersYazhi Guo: Suona, Dizi and Hulusi Tao He : Erhu Volkan Efe : Ney, Baglama, Kemenche and Oud Nazan Nihal : Vocals and Guitar Utar Artun : Piano and Keys Giuseppe Paradiso : Drums Galen Willett : Bass From Anatolia, From the Heart: Bridging East and West, Neotolia’s Originals Spring from Mediterranean Traditions, Turkish Folk Songs, and Jazz Forms​In Anatolia, where Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and the Mediterranean world overlap, layers of history – thousands of years of it – can translate into layers of melody, rhythm, and sound. This is the vision of Neotolia, an international ensemble of diverse, highly skilled musicians based in Boston. Led by singer-songwriter Nazan Nihal and pianist/composer Utar Artun, the project explores traditional and tradition-inspired pieces through the lens of contemporary composition, jazz, world music and improvisation. ​On their latest album, Neotolian Song (Interrobang Records; release date: April 23, 2017), the Turkish-born duo imagine lost ancient languages (“Neotolian Song”), mourn those lost to terrorism (“Değişmek Cesaret İster/ Change Takes Courage”), and weave new emotion into striking folk songs. Artun and Nihal have enlisted musicians hailing from Finland to Lebanon, from Iraq to China to add their own voices to complex yet elegant pieces. Turkish traditional instruments like the qanun, ney and oud, Western and Eastern strings (violin, cello, erhu) join a core quintet (Nihal voice, Artun on piano, Jussi Reijonen on guitars, Bruno Råberg on bass, and Giuseppe Paradiso on drum kit). “We’re feeling our roots, but we want to keep our music in the present,” explains Nihal. “We put our own stamp on it, drawing on the influences from different cultures. We have one foot in Anatolia and one foot all around the world.” www.utarartun.com - www.nazannihal.com Introduction of the Academy of World MusicThe Academy of World Music is located at Henderson House, an exquisite historical mansion nestled on a hilltop majestically overlooking a picturesque New England landscape in Weston, Massachusetts. The Academy was founded on the premise of nurturing musicians of diverse backgrounds from all over the world. Under the leadership of the co-founder/first President, an internationally renowned woodwind master Mr. Yazhi Guo, the Academy plans to amalgamate outstanding world musicians to build an educational system equivalent to that of a musical college. The mission of the Academy is to promote a new concept of world music, to cultivate versatile musical skills and talents of future generations, and to preserve and unite traditional cultures together. Boston is a city well known for its world class educational environment with top institutions such as, Harvard, MIT, Berklee College of Music, and the New England Conservatory. The Academy will tap into their enormously rich resources and apply innovative concepts and advanced technologies to broaden students’ perspectives. They are the future of leading musicians - a future where various performing artists of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds integrate from around the world. As the traditional, ethnic, and collaborative musical art forms garner more public attention and support, the Academy will strive to contribute these art forms in the realization of its dream of uniting all peoples and creating a peaceful world.