Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens Announces a New Era for Silkroad

Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens has announced four new artistic world music and contemporary music projects that pair with community outreach and educational programs.

The American Silkroad

Home to a concert series, educational programming, children’s book, musical commissions, and media collaborations, The American Silkroad will shine a light on American music in its truest form: a melting pot of cross-cultural collaboration.

The Series will celebrate the cultural unification that came from the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad in the United States.

This project will focus on the musical contributions of the Indigenous, Irish, Chinese, and Black Americans, proving that nobody is a stranger when coming together in the world of music.

Phoenix Rising

The Phoenix Rising Concert Series is Silkroad’s rebirth and celebration of life after COVID-19 and is set to be Silkroad Ensemble’s return to the stage. Reemerging prepared for a new era of music, these concerts are Silkroad’s collective grieving song, spiritually reconnecting audiences through varied cultural experiences and a reflection of hope and togetherness following stressful times.

Powered By Womxn

An initiative aimed at uplifting and empowering the voices of Silkroad artists, Powered by Womxn is a commissioning fund that looks to highlight the immensely talented female and non-binary musicians that comprise the Silk Road Ensemble.

Home Within

Home Within is an emotional accounting of home in a time of conflict. An audio-visual performance conceived by Syrian composer and clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and Syrian Armenian visual artist Kevork Mourad, the result is an impressionistic reflection on the unity of loss, longing, and the effect of tragedy on our sense of ‘home’.

Rather than follow a narrative, the artists document home within specific moments in Syria’s recent history, using the counterpoint between image and sound to establish a sense of sustained urgency and continued hope for their homeland and communities around the world.

The Making of Home Within, a mini-documentary film, is slated to be presented in April 2021.

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