Special Guest: Felipe Hostins Trio
SUNDAY, AUGUST 18 @ 7 PM
Sponsored by:
Led by Greek tour de force Magdalini Giannikou, Banda Magda’s new project “For Seasons” pays tribute to the magnificent and endangered beauty of the natural world with original and reimagined folk songs sung in seven languages.
Google “versatile” and “ambitious” and Magdalini Giannikou’s photo should appear.
Her Banda Magda performs like a United Nations of music, and the new work they’ll perform at Music Haven evokes an entire year in 12 songs (one per month) and seven languages. “For Seasons” extends her global reach in compositions that come alive on record, stages around the world and movie screens.
Blending folk songs with new compositions on contemporary environmental themes, “For Seasons” spans continents and centuries; bold new step on a journey that has delighted audiences here. In 2019, Banda Magda opened the Music Haven Proctors Passport series to such thrilling musical effect that Presenting Artistic Director Mona Golub said the show felt like “soundtracks of the next generation of foreign films.”
Magdalini Giannikou made music for Greek TV, theater and film productions before studying at the National Conservatory of Greece and the Philippos Nakas Conservatory, then Berklee College of Music for film scoring.
She formed Banda Magda in 2010 to play Greek folk music, Latin samba, French chanson among others. The band’s albums also spin the globe: “Amour, t’es la?” (2013), “Yerakina” (2015), “Tigre” (2017), “Leleyo (Kissing in the Dark)” (2023), and three releases this year alone – “For Spring,” “Deixa Cair” and “Aurore” – plus music for four recent films or TV shows.
At Proctors in 2019, however, the live stage again proved to be her musical home, more than the recording studio. She united the audience in bird calls to spice the chorus of one song; then in her final song, the only voices at the end came from the audience. Though few understood what they sang, smiles and songs work in any language.
She brings a boldly international band to Music Haven: Bob Lanzetti and Ignacio Hernandez, guitars; Murph Aucamp, drums and percussion; Mark Vanderpool, bass; and Darian Donovan Thomas, violin.
Special Guests: Felipe Hostins Trio
Young Brazilian accordionist Hostins plays forró, a hip-swiveling dance music from northeastern Brazil, traditionally played by trios of accordion, drum and triangle. Joining Hostins this evening will be Davi Vieira on percussion (Zabumba and timbau) and vocals and Chrystal E. Williams on triangle and vocals.