Concerts and Lectures

 

                  "The World On A String: Mediterranean Diaspora"

 

John La Barbera’s stunning compositions and phenomenal playing, along with the entire ensemble’s spirited performance, put this recording in a class by itself”. Lyrichord Discs

"World on a String: Mediterranean Diaspora” Directed by composer/multi-instrumentalist, and author, John T. La Barbera, is a global array of music and song played on traditional plucked stringed instruments crossing cultures through time, tracing deep roots steeped in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Featuring the oud from the Arab/Andalusian traditions, the cura and saz from Turkey, Italian traditional string instruments including the chitarra battente and Neapolitan mandolin, the Brazilian cavaquinho and from the Amazon, the rarely seen viola de cocho. Music from the Arabic/ Andalusian traditions, Sephardic songs, drifting through Medieval and Renaissance music of the troubadours, ballads of Northern and Southern Italy, through Sicily, the Iberian Peninsula, then on to Brazil. It highlights a wide range of music both mystical and inspiring, culminating with original music composed by John La Barbera.

 

The concert spans many centuries of plucked string music from both the oral and notated traditions bridging together music from the Mediterranean and across borders. Vocals by Jennifer Stigliani Bowen. The performance is both a high energy and educational experience for all age group audiences.