FREE PALESTINE String Quartets by John King

8-9:30 p.m. ET Friday, February 16, 2024

In-person at AANM or Online via Livestream
Purchase Tickets: $10 Members | $12 Student/Senior | $15 General Public | $5 Livestream

FREE PALESTINE string quartets by composer John King began in 2013 and is ongoing. King explores Arabic music traditions through a study of pitch and rhythm compositions for string quartet (and in some instances the addition of oud). These works are titled based on the most prominent maqam incorporated; and each references one of the hundreds of Palestinian villages that were ethnically cleansed in 1948. In this, King is attempting to archive and counteract the erasure of histories, memories, and music of these Palestinian villages. At AANM, King’s compositions will be performed by The Entropy String Quartet featuring Maritza Figueroa-Garibay, Mike Khoury, Indira Edwards and Jack O’Brien. This event will also be livestreamed.

All ticket proceeds will be donated to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). PCRF is the primary humanitarian organization in Palestine, providing crucial and life-saving relief and humanitarian aid in Gaza.

From “A World of Shared Ecstasy” by Adam Shatz, The Paris Review, 2017
“Edward Said, I think, would have appreciated John King’s extraordinary suite for string quartet, Free Palestine, recently released on New World Records, and not only because King has dedicated it to the same cause that Said served as an unofficial spokesman. Seldom have the traditions of Western and Arabic music been fused with such intelligence, integrity, and feeling.”

About the Artists:

John King is a freelance composer, guitarist and violinist living in New York City. He began working on these “Free Palestine” string quartets in 2013. They now number 120 separate works, each one dedicated to one of the 400+ Palestinian villages ethnically cleansed in 1948. The music sounds within the intersection of Arabic and western music traditions, and at the same time brings a futuristic de-colonizing approach as to the methods of their possible interpretations.

The Entropy String Quartet, featuring Maritza Figueroa-Garibay, Mike Khoury, Indira Edwards and Jack O’Brien, was formed in 2023 to explore new and adventurous music by challenging composers. Based in Redford, Mich., the members of The Entropy String Quartet have a rich background in improvisation as well as performing through composed pieces. Figueroa-Garibay divides her time between composing, performing and conducting the Detroit Community Orchestra, Khoury performs in duet with improviser Ben Hall and plays in the Redford Civic Symphony Orchestra, Edwards divides her time between freelancing and teaching at Wayne County Community College District, and O’Brien performs with the The Northwoods Improvisers when he is not composing new works.

This evening is a co-presentation with Arab.AMP. Directed by Leyya Mona Tawil, Arab.AMP is a platform elevating the work of experimental live art, music and ideas of the Arab and SWANA diaspora, the region and our allied communities. Arab.AMP is supported in part by the California Arts Council, The Hewlett Foundation, and the City of Oakland Cultural Funding Program.

In partnership with