TICKETS: https://forms.gle/5DUmpD97HBY6M7kA7
Time: Wednesday April 23, 2025. Doors at 6:30, concert at 7:30 PM
Address: The Greenroom at the Bluebird Cocktail Bar, 3600 Hickory Ave, Baltimore, MD 21211
About Strings Beyond Boundaries: Discover the dynamic interplay of guitar, sitar, and the Persian tar led by guitarist and composer Hasan Imam Hamdani. Blending musical traditions from India to West Africa, this unique collaboration bridges cultures through sound.
Musicians
Hasan Imam Hamdani composer and guitar player, serves as the driving force behind the collaborative global music ensemble, Imam Collective. In 2022, Imam Collective released its debut E.P "Solitude" under the Australian label ‘Worlds Within Worlds’ an exploration into the richness of West African and Indian Classical Music. Hasan Imam’s repertoire for solo guitar showcases the breadth of his influences and his innovation in adapting various music styles to the guitar. Hasan Imam performs internationally with many artists, most notably Boston music award winner Ali McGuirk, Bosnian flamenco artist Mirza Redzepagic and the Qalandar Arts Ensemble, a multicultural music project that unites artists from all over the world at performance spaces in London, UK. In 2024, The U.S consulate of Bosnia sponsored Hasan Imam to partake in a music tour of the Balkans, performing in cities across Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia. In addition Hasan Imam presented workshops on music collaboration, performance and education including a TED-X talk in Sarajevo. In August of 2024, Hasan Imam participated in The Silkroad – Global Musician Workshop in Boston under the guidance of music director Mike Block, alongside applicants from 51 countries playing nearly 45 different instruments. Hasan Imam is currently an Artist of Residence at Strathmore for the year 2024/25. Hasan Imam is part of the music faculty at Montgomery College where he gives lectures on World Music and American Music History.
Snehesh Nag is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator who primarily plays the sitar, exploring Hindustani classical music, and produces music incorporating other genres such as western classical and electronic music. He has performed extensively in India, the US, and Canada garnering wide acclaim, and is the recipient of multiple accolades such as the National Scholarship, Government of India and the Acharya Allauddin Khan Memorial Award. As a sitarist, he has trained with his father Pandit Sugato Nag and legend of sarod Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, and plays a unique blend of two gharanas (school of music), namely the Senia Shahjahanpore and Enayatkhani gharana . As a composer and improvisor, he collaborates with a variety of musicians where he enjoys discovering and improvising based on the common musical language shared between them. Known for his versatility, Snehesh’s collaborations range from playing with Indian classical tabla legends such as Pandit Anindo Chatterjee to The Princeton Symphony, Grammy winning and nominated musicians such as singer-songwriter Cathy Fink, Hip-hop artist Christylez Bacon, and violinist William Harvey. Snehesh holds a master’s degree in music technology and is a music producer and sound designer. He was an artist-in-residence at Strathmore, class of 2024. As an educator, Snehesh has been teaching privately for many years and frequently conducts workshops. He has worked with Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids program and conducted workshops at places such as Strathmore and Silkroad’s Global Musicians Workshop, where he has expanded upon both Indian classical repertoire, as well as tools to converse with other musical traditions.
Ali Arshi is a multi-genre composer and multi-instrumentalist based in the U.S., working across film, media, games, and world music. His work blends modern music techniques with interactive elements, shaped by a strong foundation in music technology. He is a Berklee graduate, where he received the World Tour Full Scholarship and the String Department Achievement Award. Rooted in Iranian classical music, he is also a composer, tar player, and vocalist. As the founder of RazAvaz, he explores Persian musical scales and integrates classical poetry into contemporary settings. Ali’s experience includes live sound engineering, allowing him to navigate both studio and performance environments. His approach balances innovation and tradition, offering a grounded perspective in today’s music landscape.