Lute Legends Collective with the SMTD Baroque Chamber Orchestra and Joseph Gascho

Borderlands: Music on the Edge

Thursday, October 30, 2025 | 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Britton Recital Hall
Earl V. Moore Building
1100 Baits Dr
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Free - no tickets required

Livestream Link

View Program

7:15pm Pre-Concert Lecture Demonstration (In-Person Only)
8:00pm Performance (In-Person and Livestreaming)

This transfixing musical journey is anchored by a triangle of distinct traditions: the evocative depiction of nature in ancient China, the multilayered ornamentation of the European Renaissance, and the improvisatory brilliance of Arabic maqam. Yet the performance explores the uncharted geographical and stylistic spaces between the points of that triangle. Through diverse repertoire such as haunting Uyghur folk tunes from Xinjiang, polyphonic songs from the Iberian Peninsula, and classical forms from the Ottoman court, we experience moments when these three musical traditions reached out to engage with one another. Guided by three plucked-string specialists joined in collaboration by mutual curiosity and friendship, listeners will hear musical dialogues that can only take place in real or imagined “borderlands” where cultural boundaries blur and creativity know no bounds.

ABOUT THE GUEST ENSEMBLE

Lucas Harris, lute; Ronnie Malley, oud; Wen Zhao, pipa

Each member of THE LUTE LEGENDS COLLECTIVE is a committed carrier of an ancient musical tradition, whether it be the virtuosic modal improvisation of the Middle East, the intricate polyphony of the European Renaissance and Baroque, or the picturesque musical depiction of nature from China. Though instruments such as the oud, lute, & pipa each have evolved a distinct set of techniques and sounds, the recognition that our beloved instruments are “long-lost cousins” invites us into a new kind of musical conversation based on mutual curiosity and friendship. The Lute Legends Collective is our way of reuniting our instruments in a cross-traditional musical experiment for the twenty-first century.

Lucas Harris & Wen Zhao, directors
http://www.lutelegends.com

Concert Free Live-stream Option North Campus