Our new commission from composer/performer Tarek Yamani is here, and you are invited to the world premiere performance!
Berytus Suite is a high-voltage collision between western classical music and Tarek’s unique concoction of jazz and Arab musics. One of the bright lights during the pandemic, this collaboration took place entirely in the digital realm. And for the world premiere, UMS expands its already sizable reach by broadcasting the concert footage virtually.
We literally cannot wait to hear what you think of this one-of-a-kind string quartet!
From the UMS website:
As the culmination of their collaborative 2020/21 UMS Digital Artist Residency, the Spektral Quartet performs the world premiere of a new four-movement suite composed by Tarek Yamani.
Yamani, born and raised in Beirut, is a Lebanese-American award-winning composer and pianist who taught himself jazz at the age of 19. Since the release of his debut album Ashur, in 2012, he has been reinventing classical Arab music within the framework of Black American music in a genre often dubbed “Afro-Tarab.” He has composed the works on this program for the Spektral Quartet, a Grammy-nominated string quartet based in Chicago that actively creates musical conversations between traditional repertoire and new works.
Spektral Quartet’s programming is supported by our members, our donors, and by the following foundations and organizations:
