The Skirball Cultural Center Sunset Concerts continues with its eclectic mix of traditions and styles from around the world at 8 p.m. on Thursday, August 15 with Mamak Khadem.
All Thursday night concerts are presented free of charge in the Skirball’s central courtyard. Attendees may arrive early to dine under the stars and visit the museum galleries.
Called “one of the wonders of world trance music” by the Los Angeles Times, Khadem’s music is anchored in the diversity of Iran, where many languages, rituals and beliefs are woven into a vibrant tapestry. She taps into that fabric and reaches outside of Iran to honor what she calls “the connectivity of all cultures.”
Khadem will present a special collaboration with musicians from the Middle East and beyond, including Ruben Harutynuyan from Armenia, Mehdi Bagheri from Kurdistan, Iran, Sofia Lambropoulou from Greece and T.J. Troy from Los Angeles.
Prior to the show, Khadem and her ensemble will give instruction on traditional Kurdish and Azeri dances to audience members.
The classically trained Khadem studied extensively in both Iran and the United States, including at the renowned Ali Akbar Khan College of Music in Northern California. She moved to Los Angeles from Tehran as a teenager, and her work reflects her life experience straddling and reconciling two cultures, old and new, and creating beauty from their synergies and contrasts.
Khadem’s latest work, “A Window to Color,” is a conceptual album inspired by the poetry of Iran’s late gifted poet and artist Sohrab Sepehri. Khadem’s distinctive, expressive powerhouse of a voice has been heard on numerous film and TV scores including “The Peacemaker,” “Traffic,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Battlestar Galactica.”
She lives in Los Angeles, where she teaches classical Persian music and conducts workshops for non-musicians that incorporate singing, meditation and movement.
Maria Muldaur and The Campbell Brothers perform together on August 22.
Reservations are not necessary, but there is limited seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking is $10 per car. Contact: skirball.org.
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