East of the River

SULTANA: Music of the Sephardic Diaspora

As light filters through a canopy of old oak trees adjoining Topanga Creek, a Spanish-Colonial styled structure hosts a blend of haunting and virtuosic melodies from the traditional repertoires of the Balkans, Armenia and the Middle East — and gems of the Medieval European classical repertory. This musical journey breathes life into ancient forms, braiding together the rich musical traditions of the Sephardic diaspora through North Africa and the Ottoman Empire, inflecting the music with infectious Eastern rhythms, and steeping their performance in the art of improvisation. “Hollywood may have tapped elements of this music, but never with the skill, authentic complexity and sheer pleasure produced in this concert…A standing ovation” (Third Coast Daily, Milwaukee).