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Orontes Guitar Quartet

May 28, 2019 @ 7:00 pm

Venue

Tidemark Theatre
1220 Shoppers Row
Campbell River, BC V9W 2C8 Canada
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Orontes Guitar Quartet

In their celebration of beauty through music, the Orontes Guitar Quartet from Damascus gives us a glimpse of the real Syria, a country with an extraordinary history of art and culture. The four talented musicians – Orwa Al-Shara’a, Nazir Salameh, Gaby Al-Botros and Mohammed Mir Mahmoud – play a wide range of musical styles, from classical, jazz and flamenco to romantic, blues and country. The Quartet, who have performed with the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra, are in Canada for just a year, thanks to the generosity of the Artist Protection Fund, a New York-based organization that seeks safe havens for gifted artists around the world who are under threat.

After first meeting up as students at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus, three of the Quartet were forced by the civil war to flee to Lebanon, where they met renowned American classical guitarist Susan McDonald. With her help, they obtained fellowships from the APF as Visiting Artists at the University of Victoria. The Orontes Quartet are among the youngest APF fellows and the first to be placed in Canada. In addition to coaching UVic students and making a recording, the Quartet is performing across BC and planning a limited Canadian tour.

$5 from each ticket will go to the Immigrant Welcome Centre in support of programs that assist newcomers to Canada to successfully settle in our communities by offering help with housing, access to government and local services, education, and employment as well as assistance in navigating the path to Citizenship.

Tickets: $22 Admission (+applicable taxes & fees)