Next Stage Arts Project

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Mehrnam Rastegari is a prominent Persian musician, film score composer, singer, violinist, and master Kamancheh player. She has been featured in some of the most prestigious music festivals worldwide, including GlobalFest in NYC, USA, Secret Planet in NYC, USA, Fajr International Music Festival in Tehran, Iran, the WOMEX (World Music Expo) in Tampere, Finland, Ragas Live Festival in NYC, USA, the International Competition named after Tlep Aspantaiuly in Astana, Kazakhstan, and numerous concerts across The United States, Germany, Switzerland, France, Iran, and more.

The Brooklyn based Mediterranean trio Habbina Habbina connects Brooklyn indie to Middle-Eastern psychedelia and Guitar twang mastery. Habbina Habbina plays what could be described as Mediterranean surf, with a surfing style that owes much to the Middle Eastern side of Dick Dale, or the Western side of Omar Khorshid. Habbina Habbina, named after a beloved song by syrian singer Farid El-Atrache, takes its inspiration from Egyptian pop, Greek tunes as well as all sorts of retro-Mediterranean-hits, James Bond Soundtracks, Umm Kulthum, Aris San and many more.

"Naughty Bits" is a dance-play set inside Juli's memories that examines trauma while finding levity within the tragic. Through movement, text, song, projections and humor, Naughty Bits finds the forgotten bits, funny bits (and wobbly bits) of putting one's mind and body back together.

Her mission is to explore her own personal struggles through the medium of performance. In sharing her work, she creates space for audiences to access their own challenges or traumas. Her provocative, introspective autobiographical solo performance fuses movement, text, song, audience interaction and comedy to both acknowledge the gravity of her burdens as well as simultaneously laugh at their reality. Sara Juli has been described as a "skilled comedian, actress and dancer" and "a light of the downtown dance and theatre scene."

Please note: This piece explores one person's experience around trauma.

Introducing to the Vermont area, for the very first time, the music from their Grammy-nominated record "Ourself, Behind Ourself Concealed," classical virtuosos Tasha Warren (clarinet and bass clarinet) and Dave Eggar (cello) invite the audience on a captivating musical odyssey through the realms of classical, jazz, tango, and beyond. Joining forces with the duo is the exceptional Martha Redbone, who brings her distinctive blend of folk, gospel, and blues, accompanied by the masterful guitar virtuoso Phil Faconti. Together, they create an unforgettable evening, weaving an immersive tapestry of musical storytelling that promises to be a unique and enriching experience.

"Ourself, Behind Ourself Concealed," released in 2022, presents world premieres of chamber works by six of today's most dynamic and influential composers: Nathalie Joachim, Paquito D'Rivera, Meg Okura, Martha Redbone, Pascal Le Boeuf, and Cornelius Boots. As the world simultaneously stood still and transformed across the globe, these six pieces came into the world during the pandemic lockdown in 2020/2021, each emerging as a reflection of our complex global landscape. From the Far East to the Haitian Caribbean, to the plains of Africa journeying through Cuba to New York, tales whisper and weave to form a beautiful and poignant collision of genres. These stunning new works come to life on the contemporary classical music stage by way of the shape-shifting, chameleon-like natures of these two complementary instruments. The result is an explosion of beauty, power, joy, ecstasy, isolation, and unity; uniquely inspired by personal narrative, identity, and the time in which they were written.

Tickets and info at nextstagearts.org