ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Chaker and Gilchrist come together in an exploration of the threads that stitch our inherited worlds—the whispers of old tales passed down by grandmothers, the shadowed weight of mythologies, superstitions, and lullabies, scattered across time and distance.

Drawing from the musical vocabularies of their respective lineages—Celtic and Levantine—this new duo traces melodic and rhythmical contours shaped by centuries of oral memory. They search for the places where their stories overlap: fields of exile, haunted lands, and songs that carry coded truths.

This is not a reimagining of the past, but an exploration of a shared present—an exploration of what flows through us unseen, like smoke through veins. This suite of music invites the audience to step into a newly formed world, rooted in the past but written for the present day—a brand new mythology.

ABOUT THE MUSICAL ARTISTS

LAYALE CHAKER, violinist, singer and composer

Composer and violinist Layale Chaker was raised on the verge of multiple musical streams in her native Lebanon. Her complex sound universe, described by NPR as “beguiling” with “bright and beautiful strands… gorgeous, wine-dark swirls,” lies at the intersection of classical contemporary music, jazz, Arabic music, and improvisation. Her practice is committed to art as both sanctuary and crossroads—a place where ancestral narratives meet contemporary voices in a continuous reimagination of the world we inherit, live in, and bequeath. A 2020-2022 Jerome Hill Fellow, Chaker is also the recipient of the 2022 Opera America Discovery 2022 Award, among many other accolades.

In 2024, her work Qarar/Jawab premiered at the Venice Biennale, and Dawning, a double concerto, premiered with the New York Philharmonic. Her debut chamber opera, Ruinous Gods, premiered at the 2024 Spoleto Festival before its European debut at Wuppertal Opera. She also recently released a double portrait album on In a Circle Records, featuring both her classical works and chamber jazz quintet, Sarafand.

“Haunting yet quietly rigorous…” — The New York Times

https://layalechaker.com

MAEVE GILCHRIST, harpist, singer, composer and producer

Edinburgh-born harpist and composer Maeve Gilchrist has been credited as an innovator on her native instrument and taken the Celtic (lever) Harp to new levels of performance and visibility. Currently based in Kingston, NY, Maeve tours internationally as a solo artist and composer. She is a member of the Grammy-winning Silkroad ensemble and of Arooj Aftab’s Grammy-winning Vulture Prince Ensemble. She has performed and recorded with such luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma, Frankie Gavin, Esperanza Spalding, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Solas.

As a composer, Maeve straddles the worlds of folk and classical music with pieces that include two original concertos for symphony Orchestra and Celtic Harp, along with various works for harp and string quartet that have been played by such acclaimed groups as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the Aizuri String Quartet. She is a regular visiting artist at Berklee College of Music and has had several instructional books published by Hal Leonard and 80 Days Publishing. Maeve has released a number of albums under her name and is a featured soloist on the Dreamworks blockbuster movie soundtrack, “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.” Her most recent album, “The Harpweaver,” has garnered international acclaim, including a five-star review from the Irish Times, which described it as “buoyant, sprightly and utterly beguiling….a snapshot of a musician at the top of her game.” Maeve is the Artistic Director of the Rockport Celtic Festival, an innovative new festival focused on cross-curation and the outer fringes of Celtic music.

“Both Fascinating and Absorbing in equal measure, an Original Voice” — Scotsman

https://www.maevegilchristmusic.com