Band of Brothers Program
Band of Brothers Program content
Music
Band of Brothers
Slava & Leonard Grigoryan and Joseph & James Tawadros
Dates: 4 - 5 Mar 2024
Venue: Dunstan Playhouse
Duration: 1hr 15mins, no interval
Contents
Creative Team
About Band of Brothers
Biographies
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Creative Team
Slava Grigoryan, guitar
Leonard Grigoryan, guitar
Joseph Tawadros, oud
James Tawadros, percussion
About Band of Brothers
Music making between siblings has a palpable ease, the unspoken affinity of kinship. Multiply that by two, and you have the Band of Brothers – four internationally acclaimed musicians, two sets of siblings, one super group. Their collaboration celebrates lifelong friendships, a shared common sense of humour, and musical sensibilities that have been linked since birth. With their collective Egyptian and Russian heritages, rigorous training in Eastern and Western classics, fluency in jazz and traditional improvisational styles, their music is a beautiful portrait of contemporary Australia.
Biographies
The Grigoryan Brothers
Slava Grigoryan (guitar) & Leonard Grigoryan (guitar)
Guitarists Slava and Leonard Grigoryan are counted amongst the finest musicians of their generation having developed a reputation for enthralling audiences with the energy of their performances and the breadth of their repertoire – embracing genres such as classical, jazz and contemporary music from around the world.
Between them, they have received four ARIA awards (Australian Recording Industry Association) and an incredible 25 ARIA Award nominations. As a duo, they have recorded 12 albums. They have been touring internationally since 2003, regularly performing throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and the USA, as well as more exotic performances in Brazil, South Africa, India and the Middle East. Their diverse repertoire continues to present new opportunities for performances in traditional and unconventional settings, from projects with orchestras to duo performances in iconic classical venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall and Vienna’s Konzerthaus.
In August 2017, they performed as support for the Canadian singer/ songwriter kd lang on her Ingénue Redux tour, followed by a tour with Flamenco guitarist Paco Pena. All of this occurred while their classical release Songs Without Words was at the top of the classical music charts for three months. In 2018, kd lang invited them to join her for a 21-date USA tour. Later that year, the ABC released two Grigoryan Brothers albums - Bach Concertos, recorded with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and arranged for Slava and Leonard by their father Edward, and a soundtrack they created for the award-winning movie A Boy Called Sailboat.
Slava and Leonard's deep appreciation of a broad spectrum of musical styles has resulted in many collaborations involving music, both written and improvised. Combine this with their classical training and the result is a unique sound incorporating all these influences.
The Tawadros Brothers
Joseph Tawadros (oud) & James Tawadros (percussion)
The eight-time ARIA award-winning Tawadros brothers aren't afraid to try new things. Challenging traditional musical forms and pushing boundaries, they bring an exciting performing dynamic to the stage.
The Tawadros brothers are from a musical family and were brought up in environment which encouraged music and individuality. They are recognised worldwide and have performed in some of the world’s most prestigious venues with celebrated artists such as Roy Ayers, Bela Fleck, Richard Bona, Zakir Hussain, Andreas Scholl, John Abercrombie, John Patitucci, Jack DeJohnette, Joey DeFrancesco, Sultan Khan, the Academy of Ancient Music, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Camerata Salzburg, to name a few.
In 2023, Joseph performed at the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, premiered The Three Stages of Hindsight with the prestigious Britten Sinfonia, and performed a sell-out Australian tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He is one of 50 Australian composers to be chosen to write a fanfare celebrating the Sydney Opera House’s 50th birthday. Finishing off the year, Joseph performed a recording-breaking 25 hours of continuous oud playing at the Kings College Chapel in London, raising £20,000 for charity.
James' career highlights as a soloist include orchestral tours with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Camerata Salzburg, as well as a duet recording collaboration with legend jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette (of Miles Davis fame) for the album The Hour of Separation.
Together, the Tawadros brothers perform Joseph's original music. His Middle Eastern flavoured compositions constantly push the boundaries of melody and metre and are a rare combination of highly emotional music intertwined with boundless energy. True musicianship of the highest degree.
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