NY Times and Billboard-charting world music supergroup Sultans of String celebrate their “Best Musical Film” win with “Sultans of String: The Refuge Project – Visual Album”, as part of the monthly competition of Cannes World Film Festival, with a milestone Sanctuary CD Release concert in Toronto at Jane Mallett Theatre on November 4, 2022.
Watch Sultans of String with special guests from Sanctuary here:
El Bint El Shalabeya – feat. Leen Hamo:
Refuge Project Sizzle Reel – Summer in Tehranto:
The event, part of the Canadian Arab Orchestra’s “Festival of Arabic Music & Arts” will feature the core Sultans of String (Chris McKhool – violin, Kevin Laliberté – guitar, Drew Birston – bass), as well as many of the special guests from their latest album. Artists include singer Leen Hamo, and clarinet player Majd Sekkar, both of whom came to Canada as refugees from Syria. Other new Canadians include Padideh Ahrarnejad performing on Persian tar, Naghmeh Farahmand from Iran playing percussion, Donné Roberts, originally from Madagascar singing in Malagasy, and Saskia Tomkins performing on a rare string instrument from Sweden called the nyckelharpa. Tamar Ilana will be singing in Spanish and performing flamenco dance. Joining virtually will be Turkish string group Gundem Yayli Grubu and others, in a spectacular integration of sound and light.
Creating this collection of songs from the global diaspora is personal for bandleader and violinist McKhool. “My family name would have been pronounced Makhoul back in Lebanon, but when my grandfather arrived in 1903, as a stowaway on a ship, he probably encountered a Scottish border guard that thought it would be nice to give the spelling a Scottish flair, hence the oddball spelling for a Lebanese name,” McKhool explains. “These first Lebanese to Canada and the U.S. came with no money in their pockets, but with a tremendous drive to succeed. My grandparents saved up and opened a restaurant in Ottawa called the Laurier Tea Room, which did booming business after the war. The song from this project, Hurricane, is an ode to so many who came to the New World planning to work hard and save up enough to bring their loved ones over.”
Sanctuary is the second instalment in their Refuge Project. The first, simply entitled Refuge, was heralded as “a fantastic, moving, dreamlike, epic, timely album” by Ken Micallef (Jazz Times, Stereophile, Downbeat) and won many awards including 2 Independent Music Awards for Instrumental Song of the Year and World Music Producer of the Year, and Producer of the Year at the 2021 Canadian Folk Music Awards for bandleader and violinist Chris McKhool and co-producer John Bailey. The lead track “Mi Santuario” from their follow up Sanctuary CD was part of John Bailey’s 2022 Engineering Juno Award nomination.
One of the singers on Sanctuary, Yukiko Tsutsui says “We need this uplifting music … a gift for people from all over the world to get to sing together and play together. It is so moving. The music has no borders. We feel good, and we feel love, that is the amazing thing about getting together to play music, feeling the strong emotional bond between players and audiences and we are sharing a beautiful moment and that is a very big part of the meaning for me, that people from all over the world can get together and share the music and the moment and love together.”
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NOV 4, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Sanctuary (the Refuge Project) live CD release
Jane Mallett Theatre
St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts
27 Front St E, Toronto, ON M5E 1B4
Tix Link: canadianarabicfestival.ca/event/sultans-of-string
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/840358927118678
Sultans of String with special guests:
Leen Hamo – vocals
Padideh Ahrarnejad – tar
Majd Sekkar – clarinet
Donné Roberts Music – vocals and guitar
Tamar Ilana – vocals and dance
Naghmeh Farahmand – percussion
Saskia Tomkins – nyckelharpa
Combining elements of Spanish flamenco, Arabic folk, Turkish strings, and French Manouche Django-jazz, and a core musical vision that societies derive strength from diversity, BILLBOARD-charting Sultans of String come together with artists from around the globe with a unique mosaic of melody, vocals and strings. All are masters of world music that tell the story of how to communicate with others through the global language of music.
Part of the Canadian Arabic Orchestra Festival of Arabic Music & Arts – FAMA!
Full tour list – tickets available at http://www.sultansofstring.com
Oct 14 London ON • Folk Music Ontario Showcase
Oct 16 London ON • Folk Music Ontario Awards – Sanctuary (The Refuge Project)
Nov 04 Toronto ON • Festival of Arabic Music & Arts – Sanctuary (The Refuge Project)
Nov 12 Deep Gap NC • Songs From the Wood Concerts
Nov 13 Black Mountain NC • White Horse Black Mountain
Nov 15 Sandersville GA • Live on Stage
Nov 17 Morgan City LA • Schreier Theatre
Nov 26 Owen Sound ON • Harmony Centre – Christmas Caravan
Nov 27 Kitchener ON • Registry Theatre – Sanctuary (The Refuge Project)
Dec 04 Gravenhurst ON • Gravenhurst Opera House – Christmas Caravan
Dec 10 St Catharines ON • FirstOntario PAC with Niagara Symphony – Christmas Caravan
Dec 11 St Catharines ON • FirstOntario PAC with Niagara Symphony – Christmas Caravan
Dec 15 Willow Street PA • Willow Valley Cultural Center – Christmas Caravan – SOLD OUT
Dec 17 Midland ON • Brookside Music – Christmas Caravan
Dec 18 Kleinburg ON • The McMichael Gallery – Christmas Caravan
Dec 19 Ottawa ON • Algonquin Theatre – Christmas Caravan
Dec 20 Cobourg ON • Concert Hall at Victoria Hall – Christmas Caravan
Dec 21 Toronto ON • Kingston Road Village Concert Series – Christmas Caravan
MORE ABOUT SANCTUARY:
This ambitious, diverse, inclusive, and passionately political album puts the band face-to-face with a VIP roster of global ‘ambassadors,’ some of whom are recent immigrants and refugees to Canada, as well as important Indigenous voices. All are masters of world music that communicate with each other through the global language of music.
Addressing the struggles of life on Mother Earth has always inspired Toronto-based quintet, Sultans of String. On Sanctuary, Sultans of String bring their unique brand of musical synergy and collaboration to bear on eleven songs that speak to the challenges facing the world’s displaced peoples—their stories, their songs, their persistence and their humanity.
Joined by an international cast, some of whom are recent immigrants to North America, the celebrated quartet immerses themselves in the plight of the international refugee on Refuge, and the humanitarian response that should greet everyone in search of a home.
Bandleader Chris McKhool explains, “The larger Refuge Project is centred around the positive contributions of refugees and new immigrants to Canada. We are bringing in special guests that are newcomers to this land, as well as global talents that have been ambassadors for peace. We wish to celebrate the successes of those who make the journey here and bring their extraordinary talents with them, in this case, music. Each one of us has a remarkable story to tell, and we are excited to share the beauty of these collaborations with you.”
Sanctuary features seven new tracks with stellar performances by Tara and Ahmed Moneka, refugees from Iraq, Amchok Gompo, a refugee from Tibet, Syrian refugee Leen Hamo, Donné Roberts from Madagascar with partner Yukiko Tsutsui from Japan, Algeria’s Fethi Nadjem, Colombian refugee Juan Carlos Medrano, Iran’s Padideh Ahrarnejad, Nyckelharpa player Saskia Tomkins, tabla player Ravi Naimpally from India, string ensemble Gundem Yayli Grubu from Istanbul, and more.
It also includes three stunning new versions of songs off Refuge. These include a gorgeous orchestral version of “The Power of the Land” featuring Indigenous performers Duke Redbird and Twin Flames, Turkish mega-pop star Suat Suna singing “Hurricane,” and flamenco dancer and singer Tamar Ilana singing a version of “Asi Soy” that will rip your heart out.
“The true inspiration behind this album is the incredible artists we get to collaborate with,” says McKhool. “We learn so much from these diverse voices, and each one of them is so personally inspiring. As Ahmed Moneka, an artist and refugee from Iraq says, ‘Love is the main reason for a great future,” and we are so privileged to be able to collaborate with so many incredible voices on this project.
And to feel the love.
MORE ABOUT SULTANS OF STRING:
Bandleader Chris McKhool (Makhoul in Lebanon) has an Egyptian-born mother who happened to play piano, teach classical theory, and feed her young son as much Middle Eastern cuisine as she did music lessons. From there, the powerful violinist developed a taste for multi-genre string sounds and found a like-minded crew of all-world enthusiasts. When McKhool first heard founding guitarist Kevin Laliberté’s rumba rhythm, their musical synergy created Sultans of String’s signature sound – the intimate and playful relationship between violin and guitar. From this rich foundation, the dynamic duo grew, featuring such amazing musical friends as in-the-pocket bass master Drew Birston, and the jaw-dropping beats of percussionist Chendy Leon.
Their live resume is similarly stellar. Equally at home in a concert hall, folk and jazz club or festival setting, the Sultans have gigged at JUNOfest, the legendary club Birdland in New York, Celtic Connections Festival (Glasgow) and London’s Trafalgar Square. They have sold out Koerner Hall three times (Toronto’s Carnegie Hall), and performed with the Annapolis, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton Symphony Orchestras. They have played live on CBC’s Canada Live, BBC Radio, BBC TV, Irish National Radio, and the syndicated World Café, Woodsongs, and SiriusXM in Washington. Sultans of String’s musicianship and versatility are also showcased in collaborations with such diverse luminaries as Paddy Moloney & The Chieftains, Sweet Honey in The Rock, Richard Bona (Paul Simon), Alex Cuba, Ruben Blades, Yasmin Levy, Benoit Bourque, Béla Fleck, Crystal Shawanda & Ken Whiteley.
We would like to acknowledge funding support from the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario, and Canada Council for the Arts.