From our friends at the Strathmore...
Ensemble melds world music, classical virtuosity in just-released crossover album, Symphony!
JUNO nominees, ISC and two-time Canadian Folk Music Award winners, Sultans of String, bring their just-released roots-classical crossover disc, Symphony!, to the Mansion at Strathmore on Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Sultans of String are known for dizzying roots music jams, poly-rhythms and revved up riffs, thrilling audiences with their global sonic tapestry of Spanish Flamenco, Arabic folk, Cuban rhythms, foot-stomping East Coast Celtic, and French Gypsy-jazz in a celebration of musical fusion and human creativity infused with virtuosity. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org
Their latest album, Symphony!, will be released September 2013, distributed by SONY/RED. Toronto Sun raves, “The playing is top notch and every track is a musical discovery!” and the Edmonton Journal says, “Thrill of improvising makes Sultans a thrill to experience… gripping suspense for both the audience and the musicians… Superb!”
Formed six years ago, Sultans of String have been riding a wave of success, from their CDs hitting #1 on world/international music charts in North America, to their quadruple 2012 Canadian Folk Music Award nominations, winning World Music Group of the Year. The band has been recorded live for broadcast on BBC Television, SiriusXM in Washington, DC, and CBC’s Canada Live, and has been invited to play world stages with legendary artists including The Chieftains, Livingston Taylor and David Bromberg.
The ensemble is led by JUNO Award nominee, six-string violinist Chris McKhool, whose musicality is influenced by his paternal Makhoul grandparents, who immigrated to Canada from Lebanon, and his Egyptian-born mother, a piano and theory teacher. Sultans of String found its signature sound when McKhool first heard founding guitarist Kevin Laliberté’s rumba rhythm, their musical synergy creating an intimate and playful relationship between violin and guitar.
Touring as a dynamic duo to large ensemble, McKhool draws from a collective of master musicians to bring the sounds of Sultans of String to venues around the world. The ensemble includes such amazing musicians as guitarists Kevin Laliberté (Jesse Cook, the Chieftains) and Eddie Paton (Robert Michaels), bass masters Drew Birston (Chantal Kreviazuk) and David Woodhead (Loreena McKennitt), and Cuban percussionist Chendy Leon.
