New European Ensemble String Quartet with Nizar Rohana & Tony Overwater

This special concert brings together the New European string quartet with two leading voices in contemporary Arab music: Palestinian oud virtuoso Nizar Rohana and Dutch bassist and composer Tony Overwater.

At the heart of the programme lies a deep musical dialogue between Arabic maqam traditions and contemporary composition and improvisation. Together, the performers create a rich and layered sound world in which new music, tradition, improvisation, and storytelling converge. The programme reflects the ensemble’s commitment to music that engages with contemporary realities while honouring deep musical lineages — values central to the Culture Unlimited Festival.

European Premiere
Kareem Roustom — Oud Quintet (2024–2025)
for oud and string quartet (approx. 27 minutes)

Movements:
I. Zanjaran
II. ‘Iraq
III. Kurd
IV. Dulab

Written for the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Oud Quintet brings Arabic maqam traditions into dialogue with Western chamber music. Roustom composed the work in response to the lack of meaningful repertoire for oud and string quartet, seeking to move beyond orientalist clichés toward an authentic chamber-music exchange. The piece asks both the oud player and the string quartet to meet halfway, explore unfamiliar musical territory, and work together toward a shared artistic goal, offering a powerful reflection on migration, coexistence, and cultural exchange.

Composed for the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Roustom’s Oud Quintet brings Arabic maqam traditions into dialogue with Western chamber music. Roustom composed the work in response to the lack of meaningful repertoire for oud in chamber music settings, seeking to move beyond orientalist clichés toward an authentic chamber music exchange. Roustom’s Quintet asks both the oud player and the string quartet to meet halfway, explore unfamiliar musical territory, and to work together toward a shared artistic goal, offering a powerful reflection on migration, coexistence, and cultural exchange.
Kareem Roustom (b. 1971, Damascus) is an Emmy-nominated Syrian-American-Canadian composer, and oud player whose work bridges Middle Eastern musical traditions and Western contemporary classical music. His music spans orchestral, chamber, choral, and interdisciplinary forms and has been performed internationally by leading orchestras and ensembles, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and many others. His work has been presented at major venues and festivals such as the BBC Proms, Grand Teton Music Festival, Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, Pierre Boulez Saal (Berlin), and Carnegie Hall.

World Premiere
Zaid Jabri — New Work for String Quartet and Electronics

A newly commissioned work exploring the interaction between acoustic string writing and electronic sound. The composition expands the expressive and spatial possibilities of the string quartet, positioning electronics as an integral chamber-music partner rather than an accompaniment. The work engages with hybrid musical languages, microtonality, and timbral transformation, creating a dialogue between composed structure and evolving sound environments.

Zaid Jabri (b. 1975, Damascus) is a composer, conductor, and music educator whose music bridges Western contemporary music and Middle Eastern musical traditions. He studied composition at the Academy of Music in Kraków, where he completed both his master’s and doctoral degrees under Zbigniew Bujarski and Krzysztof Penderecki. His works have been performed widely, from the Berlin Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall to festivals across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Jabri’s music engages deeply with acoustic and cultural hybridity, microtonal language, and rich chamber-to-orchestral textures, and his compositions have been commissioned and performed by leading ensembles worldwide, connecting musical lineages across geography and history.

Contemporary Syrian Voices

Anan Al-Kadamani
Two Folk Tunes for string ensemble
Arrangements inspired by traditional melodies, combining European classical string writing with Arabic modal sensibility.

Amr Zahereddine
String Quartet in B minor for string quartet
Zahereddine represents a new generation of Syrian composers. His music combines formal clarity and academic rigour with strong melodic direction and dramatic contrast, drawing on Western chamber-music traditions while remaining informed by Arabic melodic sensibility.

Suhaib Al-Samman
Miniature for String Trio (2005) for violin, viola, and cello
An intimate chamber work marked by transparent textures, subtle ornamentation, and lyrical restraint, revealing a refined compositional voice.

Tony Overwater
Rivers Flow for oud and string quartet
In Rivers Flow, Tony Overwater brings the oud into dialogue with the string quartet through flowing forms inspired by movement and continuity. Microtonality, groove, and improvisatory freedom coexist with notated chamber textures, creating a natural meeting point between Arabic musical language and contemporary ensemble writing.

Long-term Artistic Collaboration — Tony Overwater & Nizar Rohana

The collaboration between Tony Overwater and Nizar Rohana spans more than a decade and reflects a shared commitment to developing a contemporary musical language rooted in Arabic maqam, improvisation, and composed form. Their work moves beyond stylistic fusion toward a true chamber-music dialogue, integrating microtonality, rhythmic flexibility, and melodic nuance into structured contemporary contexts. This concert continues that long artistic journey, presenting music shaped by trust, shared musical memory, and sustained exchange.

Performers

New European String Quartet
• Rada Avcharova — violin
• Mihkel Kerem — violin
• Jellantsje de Vries — viola
• Willem Stam — cello

With
Nizar Rohana — oud
Tony Overwater —double bass