Mike's Oud Forums

Looking for Oud Player for Berklee student's recital in Boston

lydiatanmusic - 7-16-2016 at 03:56 AM

Merhaba! Greetings to all!

I'm a senior at Berklee College of Music in Boston studying Jazz Composition. Originally from Singapore, I have lived in Istanbul before and I enjoy writing Turkish/Middle Eastern Jazz music.

I have a senior recital on 2 Aug 2016, 7-8pm in Berklee but my Oud player is not available. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in performing one tune in a student-run recital? Sight-reading and improvisation skills are required.

This is the tune that I will be performing:
https://soundcloud.com/lydiatanmh/istanblue-the-forgotten

Compensation will be non-monetary: you'll get a video of your performance posted on Berklee's video streaming website, get to meet other musicians from Berklee and I'll buy you food/coffee. Just one or two rehearsals will be needed before the performance.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Regards,
Lydia Tan
http://www.lydiatanmusic.com

Brian Prunka - 7-16-2016 at 06:49 AM

Who is the oud player you wanted to use? I know a few in Boston: Jussi Reijonen, Aliya Cycon, Fares Batoush . . .

lydiatanmusic - 7-16-2016 at 12:05 PM

Thanks for your reply! It was Aliya! I've also contacted Fares but he's unavailable. I recently just asked Jussi too. Do you play Oud yourself?

adamgood - 7-16-2016 at 12:55 PM

How about Mehmet Sanlikol?

Brian Prunka - 7-16-2016 at 01:50 PM

Quote: Originally posted by lydiatanmusic  
Thanks for your reply! It was Aliya! I've also contacted Fares but he's unavailable. I recently just asked Jussi too. Do you play Oud yourself?


Yes, I do but I live in NYC.

Do you know Ghassan? I forget his last name. Not sure how good of a reader he is but he's a good player. Do you know Simon Shaheen? You might reach out to him for recommendations, as he would likely know everyone around.
Kareem Roustom would be a possibility but I would expect him to be paid.

For what it's worth, some free advice from someone who's been around a while: while it's fine to ask fellow students and close friends to perform on your recital for free, it is more professional and a better habit for yourself to offer to pay those whom you do not know personally and who play music for a living.
Even if you can't pay much, the gesture is important and these people are your future colleagues and employers. You are graduating from college and entering the real world, so treat your Senior Recital like a real debut performance, not as an academic event (even if it is). Since you are making demands (sight reading and improvisation), you should expect to pay for those skills.
Believe me, the relatively small amount you pay the musicians will be worth it in goodwill down the road.

lydiatanmusic - 7-16-2016 at 10:46 PM

Quote: Originally posted by adamgood  
How about Mehmet Sanlikol?


Mehmet Sanlikol the grammy nominated composer? He's my favourite pianist :) I didn't know he plays the Oud! That will be beyond my dreams if he even watches my recital. :P

lydiatanmusic - 7-16-2016 at 11:04 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Brian Prunka  
Quote: Originally posted by lydiatanmusic  
Thanks for your reply! It was Aliya! I've also contacted Fares but he's unavailable. I recently just asked Jussi too. Do you play Oud yourself?


Yes, I do but I live in NYC.

Do you know Ghassan? I forget his last name. Not sure how good of a reader he is but he's a good player. Do you know Simon Shaheen? You might reach out to him for recommendations, as he would likely know everyone around.
Kareem Roustom would be a possibility but I would expect him to be paid.

For what it's worth, some free advice from someone who's been around a while: while it's fine to ask fellow students and close friends to perform on your recital for free, it is more professional and a better habit for yourself to offer to pay those whom you do not know personally and who play music for a living.
Even if you can't pay much, the gesture is important and these people are your future colleagues and employers. You are graduating from college and entering the real world, so treat your Senior Recital like a real debut performance, not as an academic event (even if it is). Since you are making demands (sight reading and improvisation), you should expect to pay for those skills.
Believe me, the relatively small amount you pay the musicians will be worth it in goodwill down the road.



Wow thank you for more names! Also thank you for the advice. I agree with you and I have paid musicians before who have played for my other projects who are not my schoolmates/friends. In this context, I wanted to keep it fair with all the musicians that are on this recital so there will not be unfairness in compensation. However, if he/she has an established reputation, I will definitely feature him/her as a special guest and do my best to pay accordingly as that is only appropriate. I really appreciate your advice and will be more mindful of this factor when I go out to the "real" world after this. :)

Also thanks for your prompt replies in this forum! Makes me feel very welcomed here though I am very new to this genre of music. :)

Brian Prunka - 7-17-2016 at 05:29 AM

You have a great attitude. I checked out your soundcloud page, I'm impressed with your writing. Are those all your tunes and arrangements?

Ghassan's last name is Sawalhi.

There's also Thaer Bader, he's really talented, I had forgotten about him:
https://www.facebook.com/thaer.bader.9

lydiatanmusic - 7-18-2016 at 09:08 PM

Thank you! I'm humbled to hear that. Yes, everything on my soundcloud, except the reposts, are either my originals or arrangements.

Thanks for the names once again, I have just reached out to them!