Labyrinth New England

10/06/2025

Looking forward to the first concert in our Modal Mosaic series on Wednesday, October 22nd! Seating is limited, reserve yours at https://labyrinthnewengland.com/modal-mosaic

03/13/2025

02/26/2025

Playing around with our next tune for the Modal Music Session at 7pm on March 4th . This is a very simple version of a tune from Turkey called “Yağcilar Zeybek” which one can use for learning. Find downloadable sheet music, mp3, and links to YouTube videos from our resources page in our profile. Anyone who can’t make it to the Modal Music Session in person can meet at our next online Modal Music Office Hours on Tuesday, March 18th at 7pm. We are using these online sessions to play through our new and existing repertoire, as well as answer any questions on makam related topics or modal music in general. Anyone interested in tuning in can send a DM on social media or contact us via email directly from the Labyrinth New England site for the zoom info. This meeting is pay-what-you-want, with a suggested donation of $5-$10. Please join us!

02/24/2025

Tev Stevig is the Artistic Director of the Labyrinth New England Festival. He is a Boston-based composer, performer, and educator who works in the world of contemporary modal music, traditional styles from the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, North India and other Eastern modal traditions. Tev will perform at the opening concert of the Labyrinth New England Festival on Saturday, March 1st at 7:30pm.

Registration is now open for the Labyrinth New England Festival! Find the link in our profile.

02/21/2025

Born in Istanbul, Ezgi Kurt specializes in the musical traditions of Anatolia and Asia Minor. She pursued formal studies at Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) and the Bogazici University Folk Music and Dance Club, and studied mugham improvisation, voice development and poetry at Cavit Murtezaoglu Ses Atolyesi. Later, she expanded her knowledge by studying Western classical music and Hindustani music at UC Davis. As a performer and cultural worker, Ezgi has extensive experience collaborating on global musical projects, exploring and understanding diverse musical traditions.

Fatih Acun is a bağlama performer focusing on the rich folk music traditions of Turkey, inspired by the local performers and styles in Anatolia. He studied bağlama at the Middle East Technical University Folklore Club and used to be part of folk music groups “Zamane” and “Gam Trio” in Ankara, Turkey. Now, he is performing Turkish and Middle Eastern music in Boston.

Beth Bahia Cohen is a master of many bowed string instruments from the Middle East and the Balkans, having been inspired at an early age by the Arabic and Klezmer music she heard at family gatherings. She has learned from masters of the violin and other bowed string instruments from many cultures. She performs and teaches traditional Greek, Turkish, Hungarian, Romanian and Klezmer music on the violin, Turkish yayli tanbur and kabak kemane, Greek lyras, and Norwegian traditional music on the Hardanger fiddle.

This trio will present the vibrant and diverse traditions of Anatolian folk music at the Labyrinth New England Community Concert on Sunday, March 2nd at 3pm. This project features a wide array of instruments including the bağlama (also known as “saz”), kabak kemane, violin, yayli tanbur, and voice, which together express the rich folklore, cultural heritage and rich tapestry of Anatolia.

Registration is now open for the Labyrinth New England Festival! Find the link in our profile.

02/20/2025

Mithat Yavuzarslan is a musician from Istanbul, Turkey with over 15 years of experience playing the Ney, Oud, and Classical (Istanbul) Kemençe. Since moving to the United States in 2022, he has worked with musicians across diverse genres, including Turkish classical, pop, folk, Middle Eastern, and Greek music, performing with various bands in Seattle and Boston.

Volkan Efe began playing the oud as a teenager under his father's guidance, performing throughout high school and college. Since moving to the US from Turkey in 2002, he has collaborated with various Turkish music ensembles in Washington DC, Chicago, and Boston. Volkan explores classical, folk, and ceremonial forms of Ottoman-Turkish music, as well as the healing aspects of the makam system in groups such as “Crossroads of Sound” and “Makam Healing Project,” winner of the 2019 Passim Iguana Music Fund grant. In addition to the oud, he plays ney, tanbur, kanun, and kemençe, regularly performing in and around Boston.

Mithat and Volkan will present a set from the Turkish-Ottoman modal music repertoire, featuring the rich sounds of the tanbur, classical kemençe, oud, and ney at the Labyrinth New England Festival’s Community Concert on Sunday, March 2nd at 3pm. Their performance will include peşrevs (introductory instrumental compositions setting the mood of a makam), saz semais (instrumental pieces typically performed at the conclusion of a suite), as well as vocal pieces. The repertoire will showcase works from several different makams (modal systems), offering a rich and diverse exploration of this classical tradition.

Registration is now open for the Labyrinth New England Festival! Find the link in our profile.

02/19/2025

Alireza Khodayari is an Iranian composer and Tar player who grew up immersed in Iranian music. His works blend elements of Iranian contemporary music with avant-garde and contemporary classical influences. Alireza will perform a set of Iranian classical music in the Labyrinth New England Festival’s Community Concert on Sunday, March 2nd at 3pm.

Alireza says of his upcoming performance, “I aim to showcase one of the most significant Iranian instruments, the tar, and highlight the profound richness of Persian traditional microtonal music. This music is deeply rooted in a heritage of intricate modal systems and expressive improvisation. By exploring and presenting the Iranian microtonal modes and dastgahs, I hope to offer an introduction to this unique musical language, emphasizing its depth, subtlety, and emotional power. Through improvisation, I seek to bring out the tar's versatility and its capacity to communicate the nuanced beauty of Persian traditional music, connecting the audience to the soul of this timeless art form.”

Registration is now open for the Labyrinth New England Festival! Find the link in our profile.

02/18/2025

Samuel Sjostedt is an Armenian-American Composer and multi-instrumentalist from Worcester, Massachusetts. Specializing on the oud, Sjostedt has performed his works globally with a wide range of ensembles, including his own, Armadi Tsayn. Samuel will perform a set entitled, “Music of the Armenian Diaspora” in the Labyrinth New England Festival’s Community Concert on Sunday, March 2nd at 3pm.

Registration is now open for the Labyrinth New England Festival! Find the link in our profile.

02/14/2025

Michael K. Harrist is a New York City based multi-instrumentalist, composer and educator, specializing in contrabass, yaylı tanbur and sarangi. He works in a wide range of traditions including Ottoman/Turkish music, Jazz, Western Classical, Hindustani and American roots music. Michael will perform at the opening concert of the Labyrinth New England Festival on Saturday, March 1st at 7:30pm.

Registration is now open for the Labyrinth New England Festival! Find the link in our profile.