Ravinia 2024 Issue 2

MARTIN THEATRE 7:30 PM TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2024 A FAR CRY SONYA CHUNG, violin RIMBO WONG, viola MINJU KIM, violin ASHLEIGH GORDON, viola ANNIE RABBAT, violin # ZHANBO ZHENG, viola # GRANT HOUSTON, violin # JULIA YANG, cello MARI LEE, violin # JING LI, cello LILIT HARTUNIAN, violin THOMAS BARTH, cello JESSE IRONS, violin MARGUERITE COX, bass ADRIAN ANANTAWAN, violin NICHOLAS WALKER, bass JAE COSMOS LEE, violin KINAN AZMEH, clarinet DINUK WIJERATNE, piano † ROUSTOM Dabké for string orchestra * AZMEH Ibn Arabi Postlude * Kinan Azmeh; Dinuk Wijeratne WIJERATNE Clarinet Concerto * Prologue: Foretelling The Dance of Ancestral Ties Flux Exile: The Salt and Bread of Rhythm Cadenza: Solitary Traveler Epilogue: Home in Motion Kinan Azmeh; Dinuk Wijeratne –Intermission– JANÁČEK Idyll for string orchestra * Andante Allegro Moderato Allegro Adagio Scherzo Moderato † Ravinia debut # Ravinia Steans Music Institute alum * First performance at Ravinia Touching on themes of home and migration, A Far Cry’s summer tour program showcases music interwoven across time and place. This concert features clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and pianist Di- nuk Wijeratne, whose brilliant clarinet concerto is a poignant musical biography of Azmeh’s emi- gration from Syria to the United States. KAREEM ROUSTOM (b. 1971) Dabké Scored for string orchestra Kareem Roustom was born in Damascus to an American mother and Syrian father. When he was 13, the family relocated to the United States. It was an uprooting that Roustom sought to heal through music, exploring the creative heritage and melodic syntax of both cultures equally. Largely self-taught in his craft, Roustom has be- come one of the most sought-after composers of our time. Commissions and performances have included such groups as the Kronos Quartet, The Crossing chamber choir, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Or- chestra, and numerous others. Demonstrating remarkable flexibility, Roustom has also com- posed 20 film scores, including his Emmy Award-winning score for the documentary The Mosque in Morgantown , and has worked on ar- rangements for such artists as Beyoncé, Wyclef Jean, Tina Turner, and Shakira. As an educator, Roustom currently holds the position of Profes- sor of the Practice at Tufts University. Kareem Roustom’s program note for Dabké is as follows: Dabké is a folk dance and a type of line dance from Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon that is typi- cally performed at joyous occasions. The leader of the dance line, called a hawaash , directs the movements of the dancers behind him. There are many variants of this dance that involve men and women and the rhythms that accompany it. This movement is based on a six-beat dabké Kareem Roustom RAVINIAMAGAZINE • JULY 1 – JULY 21, 2024 54