The Erbil International Summer Festival 21-23 August

14 August of 2013 by

21st August, 7pm at Saad Abdullah Palace (40m GulanSt., Erbil)

GANI MIRZO BAND FEATURING IBRAHIM KEIVO
Special Guest Firmesk
Gani Mirzo, Oud
Ibrahim Keivo, Vocals
Juan Carbajo, Flamenco Guitar
Andaniol Lopez de Moragas, Percussion
Martin Torres, Cello
Mevan Yunez, Buzuk
Guests: Rony Barrak, Darbouka / Kinan Azmeh, Clarinet

Ibrahim Keivo has already fascinated audiences at the Morgenland Festival Osnabrück with his powerful singing several times. This year he teams up with the Kurdish-Syrian musician Gani Mirzo in Erbil, who dedicated himself to flamenco in Spain and combines the music of his Kurdish roots with this very Spanish music. Together the longtime friends have developed a program which explores the common roots of the two music traditions. Keivo grew up as an Armenian Christian in a small Hasidic village in north Syria. Mirzo: “He is simply the best Kurdish singer today, even though he isn’t a Kurd…”

22nd August, 7pm, MEDIA HALL (30m Street, in front of Erbil International Hotel)
NATIONAL YOUTH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF IRAQ & OSNABRUECK YOUTH CHOIR
Ibrahim Keivo, Vocals
Gani Mirzo, Oud
Kinan Azmeh, Clarinet
Rony Barrak, Darbouka
Conductor: Naci Özgüc

Erbil in the summer of 2013. 16 young singers from the Osnabrück Youth Choir meet 18 musicians of the same age with Kurdish and Arab backgrounds and, within three days, they will prepare a joint concert. The National Youth Orchestra was founded in 2008 with the intention of bringing together young Kurds and Arabs of Sunni, Shiite and Christian beliefs in order to make music together. Together with renowned soloists from Syria, Turkey and the Lebanon they will perform works by Mendelssohn, Mozart, Kinan Azmeh as well as traditional music from the region.

Eklektik Berlinistan ­– Sounds of Turkey, OrAsia, Balkan and Elektro

The SHE-J İpek İpekçioğlu takes the crowd its senses on a flight through the night, serving a hybrid and an eclectic mix of Middle Eastern, Or Asian, Balkan FolkElektroFusion, Anatolian & Oriental DubInElektro, GypsyFunkPop and Berlin Elektro & Minimal, interwoven with electronic tunes from Break Beat, Drum’n Bass, House and Dancehall. Through one set, she takes the audience on an aural journey through the cultures and music of Turkey, North-Africa, Israel, Persia, the Balkans, Greece and Bollywood, as well as carefully planned escapades to the UK and USA. İpek is also known for her Berlin style Electro and Minimal sets. Her sound “Eklektik Berlinİstan” provides surprising breaks to the steady course of club music. Her emphasis clearly on kicking beats and dramatic baselines, DJ İpek İpekçioğlu offers a DJ act out of the ordinary.

23rd August, 6pm, ART HALL, Slemani

KAYHAN KALHOR & ERDAL ERZINCAN
Kayhan Kalhor, Kamancheh
Erdal Erzincan, Baglama

The Iranian Kamancheh legend Kayhan Kalhor meets the master of the turkish long- necked lute: Erdal Erzincan.

“I have always been interested in getting involved with musicians from other cultures who are influential and notable within their own musical culture and highly respected in the musical society. Erdal Erzincan was a long lost brother and a perfect match. A musician of a superb quality that I have rarely encountered. He is a master musician, a gentle soul who speaks the words of our creator trough his instrument. It has been a great honor to share this musical journey with him, which enabled me to reach places that I had never travelled to, before.” (Kayhan Kalhor).