AMIR ELSAFFAR

WITH MEMBERS OF THE RIVERS OF SOUND ORCHESTRA AND NEW HAVEN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Iraqi-American trumpeter, santur player, vocalist, and composer Amir ElSaffar‘s Rivers of Sound Orchestra brings together musicians from a broad spectrum of musical worlds, creating a musical language that combines Middle Eastern “maqams” (modes) and instruments such as oud (lute), santur (hammered dulcimer), and hand percussion, with the rhythm, aesthetics, and instrumentation of contemporary Jazz. Rivers of Sound’s 2017 release, Not Two, was described by the Chicago Tribune as “some of the most sensuously beautiful large-ensemble work being created today.” For this performance, 10 musicians from Rivers of Sound are joined by 13 members of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra to form a hybrid ensemble performing new arrangements of ElSaffar’s compositions, projected on a wider canvas.