Sultans of String, a Toronto-based band, will be teaming up with the Brantford Symphony Orchestra (BSO) for the Refuge Project at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts on Friday, March 21, 2025.
Having collaborated together for Sultan of String’s “Walking Through Fire,” concert back in October 2023, the BSO will once again join the three-time JUNO nominees for an orchestral version of the band’s 2020 album “Refuge.”
While “Walking Through Fire” featured a collection of collaborations with First Nations, Metis, and Inuit artists across Turtle Island, “Refuge” partners a brand new selection of artists and global talents, and feature songs that highlight the challenges faced by displaced people around the world, their stories, their songs, their resilience, and their humanity.
“The Refuge Project is centered around the positive contributions of refugees and new immigrants to U.S.A. and Canada,” said Chris McKhool, bandleader of Sultans of Strings. “We’re collaborating with special guests who are newcomers to this land, Indigenous artists, as well as global talents who have been ambassadors for peace. We wish to celebrate the successes of those who make the journey here and bring their extraordinary talents with them. We hope the conversations we can have as musicians will provide a model for peace that will inspire all of us.”
On the night, Sultans of Strings and the BSO will be joined by artists such as Leen Hamo, Majd Sukar, Donné Roberts, Saskia Tomkins, Padideh Ahrarnejad, Tamar Ilana and more.
When reflecting on the opportunity to collaborate again, Philip Sarabura, the BSO’s Artistic Director and Maestro, expressed nothing but admiration for Sultans of String and their work.
“Sultans of String and Chris McKhool are just so, so wonderfully talented and so capable of incorporating music from different cultures into our western heritage, that I know that this is just going to be a terrific show that everybody’s going to enjoy,” said Sarabura. “To take this music that may not be from our culture or our background, and come up with pieces that cross the divide between other cultures and combine it into one cohesive style of music like this, is a process which requires a great deal of talent, experience and sensitivity. I’m just in awe with what they do.”
He added that himself, and the approximately 24 other BSO members that will perform during the concert, are looking forward to the big event.
“Everybody is really looking forward to this immensely because the players who were involved with the “Walking Through Fire” performance, they know that when it all comes together for “Refuge,” it’s going to be just as memorable of an experience as the last,” said Sarabura.
McKhool also has similar sentiments of excitement.
“We are so looking forward to this show!” he said. “What an incredible opportunity to perform with some absolutely stellar artists who have come here from around the globe, as well as with the Brantford Symphony Orchestra. This is going to be an absolutely magical collaboration, and we have started rehearsing already as all of these orchestral charts are brand new.”
Noting that the BSO received a $9,000 donation from the Brant Community Foundation to support the Refuge Project, Sarabura shared that contributions like that are often vital in helping to make concerts happen.
“We’re really excited that we’ve had grants like the Brant Community Foundation’s come in for the project,” he said. “It just makes it that more possible because otherwise, it can be quite an expensive undertaking. We’re so grateful to everybody and anybody who has contributed specifically to this particular project.”
For those interested in attending the event, there will be a pre-concert question and answer session from 6:55 and 7:15 p.m., as well as a post-concert session following the 7:30 p.m. show.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
