Born in Chennai, raised in Mumbai, India, and based in New York, Priya Darshini’s distinct style takes inspiration from her diverse cultural and life experiences. Rooted in Hindustani and Carnatic Indian Classical music, her improvisational mastery, and vast knowledge of music from around the world, Priya’s music is elegant, tranquil, virtuosic, intricately layered, and pushes compositional boundaries while effortlessly weaving her distinct multi-cultural experience into a unique and timeless musical tapestry. As John Schafer of WNYC remarks “[Priya Darshini’s] music incorporates a world of influences and lives on the periphery, much like herself.”

In 2020, Priya Darshini released her debut solo album – Periphery – on Chesky Records, and was nominated for the 63rd Annual GRAMMY® Award for Best New Age Album. The album, inspired from her own experiences as an immigrant, was written for those feeling isolated and on the outside. It was recorded live, on one microphone in a vacant church in Brooklyn without any added EQ or compression. Drawing from the traditions of the past, intuitive intelligence of the present, and in collaboration with the technology of the future, the result is a daring and tempting feast for the senses and an album that is a significant addition to the world music vocabulary.

Chamamé – just like tango – has been declared as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Argentine accordionist, composer and researcher Alejandro Brittes, on tour in the U.S. this September and October, has been declared one of the foremost contemporary chamamé ambassadors and innovators.

Brittes’s latest artistic work is focused on exploring, evoking, and innovating upon the ancestral heritage of chamamé, which has survived great challenges throughout history to flourish today. Interpreting historical repertoire created in the Missions, and original compositions, Brittes performs chamamé classics and original material with his Quartet. Based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, the Quartet is composed of: Alejandro Brittes (accordion), André Ely (7-stringed guitar), Charlise Bandeira (flute), and Carlos de Césaro (contrabass).