At a one-of-a-kind concert, the winner of the Cannes Film Festival and the most famous lutenist will perform for the first time in Armenia with special guests: outstanding musicians representing a modern touch to the traditional music of the region Mar Margaryan and Ben Wheeler.

Jozef van Wissem, an avant-garde Dutch composer and lutenist, is known for his minimalist meditative compositions and collaborations with filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, including the Cannes award-winning score for vampire drama Only Lovers Left Alive, a couple of mutual albums and participation in the director’s band Sqürl. He is well known for his film scores and live performances accompanying silent films, blending medieval and Baroque music with experimental elements, creating immersive and meditative experiences. With over a dozen albums, his latest, The Night Dwells in the Day, reshapes ancient traditions into a modern sound, evoking mindfulness amid life’s chaos.
https://jozefvanwissem.com/
https://facebook.com/jozefvanwissem
https://jozefvanwissem.bandcamp.com

Mar Margaryan – A talented Armenian musician who has been immersed in music since childhood and played in many genres with various musicians and bands such as one of the most popular Armenian bands The Bambir. Mar’s primary instrument is the Armenian kanoon, but she also learns other instruments and collaborates with many musicians and collectives. Recently she took part in an international experimental music festival Sound Bridge. In 2012 she had a world tour with Oshakan Trio founded by Grigor Arakelian and played in France, Switzerland, Canada etc. Fun fact: Mar is the first person in Armenia who has a textile case for kanun.
https://instagram.com/mar.margaryan
https://youtube.com/@marmargaryan

Ben Wheeler – an experimental musician, composer, and ethnomusicologist based in Tbilisi. Ben’s compositions feature musical structures from local folk traditions meshed with electronics, feedback, and lo-fi aesthetics. He co-founded Mountains of Tongues, a project dedicated to preserving lesser-known music from the Caucasus region, and plays regularly in local clubs and festivals. He has recorded songs in languages that have rarely been caught on tape, instruments that only exist in extremely small numbers, and performances from a variety of underrepresented ethnic, religious, and linguistic minority communities throughout the region.
https://instagram.com/benwheelermusicofficial
https://facebook.com/crashsymbols

Come and enjoy the fusion of classical, experimental, and traditional music!