The musically daring and socially conscious Kronos Quartet performs a powerful program that includes arrangements by Jacob Garchik, and selections by Terry Riley and others. The centerpiece is an excerpt from Mary Kouyoumdjian’s "Silent Cranes", inspired by an Armenian folk song and depicting the voices of those tragically lost more than a century ago in the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Also included is a selection from Zachary James Watkins’s "Peace Be Till", commissioned by Carnegie Hall and featuring the recorded voice of Clarence B. Jones, speechwriter and personal counsel to Martin Luther King Jr. Available through May 31, 2021.

Nasrin’s Dream is inspired by the voices of the people from all around the world, every one of them appearing like drops of rain: once these drops turn into rain, no power in the world will be able to resist them. Nasrin Sotoudeh is an Iranian human rights lawyer who was wrongfully sentenced to 38 years of prison and 148 lashes for defending women's right to choose their own attire. This piece was created in August 2020, during her 46-day hunger strike to protest the conditions of political prisoners in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, #NasrinSotoudeh was awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Prize for her career-long dedication to the advancement of universal human rights. Today, NASRIN, a documentary about her life’s work, was released on all streaming platforms: http://www.nasrinfilm.com #freeNasrin Nasrin’s Dream, with music by Sahba Aminikia and visuals by Pınar Demiral, was commissioned for the Kronos Quartet by the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies at Stanford University, with additional support from the Kronos Performing Arts Association.

San Francisco Girls Chorus Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Artistic Director Chorus School Level II Monica Covitt, director With special guests Kronos Quartet, The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and the Sirkhane Circus School

Kronos Quartet and friends premiere "Salam Aleykom" (2020) from home. As part of the Pohoda in the Air online festival, Kronos Quartet premiered an expanded performance of Sahba Aminikia's re-imagination of Hassan Kassai’s theme "Salam Aleykom," which Kronos originally released as a work for quartet. In an expression of the humanitarian promise of these words that mean "peace and health be upon you," 44 musicians, artists, and even jugglers from 13 different countries join Kronos for this performance. Each video in the composite was individually recorded by each artist and edited together by Sahba Aminikia. Thank you all of the artists! Sahba Aminikia, keytar (Iran/USA) Kinan Azmeh, clarinet (Syria) William Barton, didgeridoo (Australia) Layale Chaker, violin (Lebanon/France) Marco Persis Coppola, duhol (Italy/USA) Atabak Elyasi, setar (Iran) Her Yerde Sanat Derneği / Sirkhane Social Circus School, jugglers (Turkish/Syrian border) Pinar Demiral, co-founder (Turkey/USA) The Living Earth Show (USA) Soo Yeon Lyuh, haegeum (South Korea/USA) Sahba Motallebi, tar (Iran/USA) Ben Opie, oboe (Australia) Ceren Oran, dance (Turkey/Germany) San Francisco Girls Chorus, vocals (USA) Valérie Sainte-Agathe, artistic director (France/USA) Ziya Tabassian, tombak and daf (Iran/Canada) Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat, vocals (Iran) Vân-ÁnhVõ, đàn bầu and percussion (Vietnam/USA) Wu Man, pipa (China/USA) Watch the original quartet version of "Salam Aleykom" and learn more about the piece: https://kronosquartet.org/salam-aleykom-for-peace-and-health-for-all-of-humanity/

The Book of Kings (2021) Based on the 10th century epic poem by: Ferdowsi Narrated by: Mojdeh Shamsaie Performers: The Living Earth Show Music: Sahba Aminikia Video and Visuals: Kevork Mourad "The Book of Kings" is a multimedia story-telling experience, based on three tales from The Book of Kings, the 10th-century Persian epic poetry by the Persian poet, Ferdowsi. The original book is the longes piece of poetry ever written consisting of 50,000 prose and it exists in every Iranian household. The original text was commissioned by a Persian king, Mahmud of Ghazni, and it portrays a mix of mythology, politics, and history interwoven with drama and poetry that applies all generations of humanity. The 50-minute production of The Book of Kings production is commissioned by SF-based duo The Living Earth Show and is made possible by a grant from SF Arts Commission. The production is a combination of music and visual arts created for the piece by Syrian-American artist, Kevork Mourad and dramatic poetry reading by prominent Iranian actress, Mojdeh Shamsaei in Persian language. The production consists of 5 pieces, two of which are instrumental, and the other three tell the stories of three heroes and villains from the original text. The production explores the roots of power and its corrupting effect on the human soul. Each story and every piece draws elements from the classical and traditional art and rituals from Iran. However, in several layers, every story explores contemporary politics, war, and social justice through various symbolism and storytelling techniques. The production can be presented both in a digital and live format.

One Found Sound performs Shāhmāran by Sahba Aminikia (world premiere) Premiered and commissioned by One Found Sound at Heron Arts in San Francisco April 6, 2019