Kinan Abou-afach: Of Roads and Homes: "On the Road" + "Rahil"

March 11, 2018 at Trinity Center for Urban Life, Philadelphia (DIS)PLACED: Philadelphia | Expressions of Identity in Transition is an initiative of Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture exploring the theme of displacement across Philadelphia’s diverse communities and incorporating the perspectives of four artists-in-residence of Arab heritage. http://www.albustanseeds.org/displaced/ Over the span of 18 months, the project documented the experiences of 12 individuals and their families as told by Ann de Forest and Dave Tavani; and engaged the public through storytelling, music performances, poetry readings, visual art, workshops, and community forums. Philadelphia-based Syrian composer KINAN ABOU-AFACH took inspiration for his composition from the stories of the 12 profiled individuals and their families. As he notes: "I was mainly struck by how all those 12 stories were vividly pictorial. After a while, I felt I am writing a soundtrack for a movie that has 12 characters. Those stories also ignited many other memories of min (recent and old) -- memories of "home," family, war, gunshots, destruction..." The world premiere in Philadelphia featured: Kinan Abou-afach - cello, Issam Rafea - oud, Hafez Kotain - percussion, Shannon Lee - violin, Veronica Jurkiewicz - viola; Ken Ulansey - clarinet, and Matt Engle - bass, with Denise Valentine - narrator The following tracks are featured in this video clip: • On the Road • Rahil / Departure Camera & Editing by DAVE TAVANI Sound by Joe Hannigan of WESTON SOUND Full composition of studio-recorded "OF ROADS AND HOMES" available for purchase on CDBaby, iTunes and other platforms. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/kinanabou...