Violinists Trina Basu and Arun Ramamurthy reimagine the potential of string chamber music with a unique sound both deeply intimate and cinematically expansive. Rooted in traditions of South Indian classical music, Western chamber music, and jazz, the duo is uniquely positioned to create a sound that feels ancient, orchestral, and contemporary or as The New Yorker put it “free-flowing and globe-spanning.” Combined with the duo’s fluency in improvisation, there is a clear architecture to their sound that still gives space for the two violins to be delightfully indiscernible and shine individually.
As a duo they have been Artists-In-Residence at Avaloch Farm Music Institute and Next Stage Arts Project, and have performed at Ragas Live Festival, The Jazz Gallery, Bang on a Can, Benque Cultural Center, Sri Ramanjaneya Sangeetha Sabha and Lyric Chamber Society of NY. Varying colors, shapes and sounds emerge from the ensemble with their esteemed collaborators, who have included cellists Marika Hughes and Jake Charkey, percussionists Dan Kurfirst and Rich Stein, bassists Damon Banks and Rashaan Carter and guitarist Shane Parish. The duo is married and live in Brooklyn, NY with their two young children.
For this special performance at Unifier Festival, Trina and Arun will be joined by percussionist Dan Kurfirst as they share music from their forthcoming debut duo album, Nakshatra, a profound exploration of the dance between a collective and singular sound, bursting with energy, playfulness, and a cosmic gravitas.
About Unifier Festival
Situated on 417 acres of forest, field and lake, Unifier Festival honors cultural traditions and cultural creation over 4 days of music, dance, healing, and expressive arts! It is a live art show, a place for ceremony, permaculture, and circus arts, with organic food, a 16 acre lake, and a shared reverence for life and the land that holds us. It is a place to care for the land and to eat organic food, and to be inspired and inspire our kids and our elders.