ARLINGTON, Mass. — “At the end of the day, it isn’t where I come from. Maybe home is somewhere I’m going and never have been before.” These words of the British writer and poet Warsan Shire of Somali parents from Kenya certainly applies to millions who have chosen these shores as the place where they call home.
On Sunday, May 15 at 3:00 p.m. the Armenian Cultural Foundation will present “You Are Welcome Here,” a duo concert by Syldason, the percussion (marimba) voice duo of Sylvie Zakarian and Daniela Tošić dedicated to the immigrant experience.
Taking inspiration from their shared cultural heritage from various cultures, Syldason will present common elements of our human experience that help bridge the space between us. The duo grew up on the Balkan Peninsula in an era of relative political stability, overshadowed by the heavy cloud of the Cold War. They extend a musical welcome to a wide range of folk and classical traditions.
Zakarian, an acclaimed marimba player, has played in prestigious venues in England, such as The Royal Overseas League and The Chelsea Festival; her native Bulgaria; and the United States, including The Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Berklee Performing Center and Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles. She is a Conservatory Faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College, chair of woodwind, brass and percussion at the Winchester Community Music School and is an affiliate instructor at the Office for the Arts at Harvard University.
Tošić is a soloist and chamber musician who specializes in early, contemporary and world music. She is a founding member of the internationally renowned vocal ensemble Tapestry, Hourglass, Telltale and recently the marimba-voice duo Syldason. She has recorded for major labels such as Talerc, MDG, Kalan and several independent labels.
The program will include works by world-renowned composer and son of Arlington, Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000); Armenian ethnomusicologist Komitas Vartabed (1869-1935) known as the founder of the Armenian national school of music; Japanese virtuoso marimba player Keiko Abe (b. 1937); traditional, Eastern Serbian pieces and premieres of Variations on a Bulgarian Folk Song, by Bulgarian percussionist, composer and conductor George Tantchev (b. 1969); three Neapolitan Folk Songs by composer and conductor Pasquale Tassone (b. 1949) of Arlington; as well as works by flutist, composer and songwriter Nikola Radan (b.1967) a native of the former Yugoslavia.
The concert is free and open to the public.
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