Concerts From the Freer Gallery Tickets

Excellent classical Persian music! Tickets were free at the freer gallery but we paid a service charge to ticket master to reserve seats which I would highly recommend given demand for the show.

It was terrific. I had a really good time at the show and during the entire event.

This ensemble played some very lively middle eastern music with jazz-like improvisation.

it was great, amazing, brillian performance and good organization

Naseer Shamma event the least i can say, that he is amazing! this my first time to listen to his music and i just love it.

This humble Iraqi is one of the premier oud players in the world and if you've never heard one live, expand your musical boundaries and see this brilliant musician; Arab music in concert is the most mesmerizing, rollicking, brooding music imaginable and he's a virtuoso on the instrument. And his ensemble mates are first class, too. Highly, highly recommended.

Excellent program that's musical as well as awakening the spirit inside me. Thank you for sharing your talents with the DC community.

It's not every day you get a chance to watch high quality taiko from two men who clearly love what they are doing! The venue was intimate and we all felt a part of the performance. Thanks to the Freer Sackler Galleries for bringing this free event to the DC public!

Walking into the event I expected a performance heavily weighted towards a classical feel and sound, but I was sorely mistaken. What blew me away was how the artists created a jazzy sound which benefitted from an Arab influence and the creativity that comes naturally when a group of five accomplished and professional musicians are brought together. I had an absolutely wonder ful time.

I didn't think a jazz & Arab fusion would work, but it did. Beautiful music and amazing musicianship. Just wonderful.

These musicians were just fantastic. They played music that seemed neither classic nor modern. Both "arranged" and improvised. This was a special concert put together by the Aga Khan Music Initiative.. i hope the group stays together!

Well done and performed - the music was well composed and conducted so as the signer was unbelievable :)

The performance was given by Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, "dedicated to presenting and teaching the Arabic language, arts, and culture." The group consisted of five male musicians and one female vocalist. They played I think 9 songs and two instrumental pieces before the vocalist came out. several songs. The lyrics were all in Arabic, so you didn't know what the vocalist was singing. However, the title of each song was translated so you had a basic idea. These were great performers. It was a scintillating show without a moment of boredom.

The concert started later than expected but overall everything was handled in a very professional way

I invited 3 friends to this concert... The initial reviews I read were "highly recommended"... The day of the event I read some more reviews... few "low reviews" ... and my invitation to my friends was on the line!!! Singer was superb, group was perfect... sound, passion and a great auditorium made this, the best Arab music concert to open our spirit and night that ended with a perfect dinner. I highly recommend this concert to any open minded person, any person willing to experience music from around the world! Great performance!

It was an enchanting evening! Karima Skalli and the Albustan Seeds Ensemble are outstanding artists who received a standing ovation from a packed auditorium. Too bad the auditorium couldn't accommodate all the other people who were hoping to attend this rare event! Arab artists are rarely featured in the DC area in spite of a great audience who will be more than happy to pay tickets in any venue to see their shows. In addition Arab music has a lot to share with the rest of the community. The non Arab audience members who attended last Saturday's event were extremely pleased with the experience! We need more of this events to promote a better understanding of a rich and ancient culture and for the benefit and the enjoyment of the whole community. Thank you organizers!

This music was not exactly melodic the way you think of music being, but it was still good. The Momenta Quartet played five pieces based on Buddhist inspiration. For parts, images were projected on a screen. I found this a little unnecessary. This was the least attended of all the events I've been to at the Freer. I guess that was because of the Buddhist underpinnings.

Fantastic show; highly recommend this group of young musicians who have mastered the art of both technique and showmanship.

This was a great performance. The program consisted of a string quartet by Franz Joseph Hayden, a trio for violin, horn, and piano by Gyorgy Sandor Ligeti (a Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor), and a string quartet by Felix Mendelssohn. Each performance was magnificent.

A superb performance of various, familiar European works aimed to please, and a rare chance to hear Yi-Wen Jiang's selections from ChinaSong that revealed Chinese folk styles in a most delightful way.