Carolina Performing Arts hosts second installment of 'This is America' series

On Monday, the Current Artspace + Studio hosted “This is America II,” a performance of multiple musical works encapsulating various artists’ experiences during the pandemic. The performance was the second installment of a five-part series. 

The collection features the compositional, violin and vocal stylings of Layale Chaker and Christina Courtin, as well as violin performances from Johnny Gandelsman. Gandelsman, Carolina Performing Arts’ first-ever curator-in-residence, created the series. 

The show opened with Gandelsman’s rendition of a piece written by Chaker. He stood alone onstage and introduced the song as a reflection on solitude. The performance was intricately dissonant and contained dynamic swells.  

Following this, Gandelsman introduced Chaker and her band, Sarafand. Chaker began her set with vocal trills accompanied by drums, bass, cello and piano. She then transitioned away from vocals into playing violin alongside the band. 

Originally from Lebanon, Chaker’s music features significant Arabic influence. One of her pieces was inspired specifically by her childhood village that is now completely destroyed, Chaker said introducing the piece. 

“But once upon a time, it used to be the haven of my childhood and of the childhood of all of my cousins and my friends,” she said of her village. “And at night, we would look at the sky, and it would be an inviting, safe sky — pitch black, but at the same time immense, never-ending and filled with stars to no end. And every time I close my eyes and think of that sky, I feel that safety, and I wish for that safety for the children of my village tonight.” 

Chaker’s latest album with Sarafand, “Radio Afloat,” explores similarly powerful topics of politics, power and collective pain. Inspired by Lebanese author Ounsi el-Hage’s poem “The Trace of Blue Passion,” her new album reflects on conflict and how politics shape the lives of everyday people and the land they live on.

Her pieces performed in “This is America II” examine how beauty, sadness and tragedy coexist in the world and how people navigate the world and retain joy. 

Other influences for her music have come from Assyrian mythology, as well as traditional dances and folk poems. 

Along with traditional Arab elements, Chaker’s music combines elements of both jazz and improvisation. She said she hopes the audience walks away from experiencing her music with a new sense of solace, hope and awareness of the world around them. 

“I loved the performance,” audience member Elizabeth Sasser said. “I’m so amazed by the talent of the musicians and incorporating Arabic rhythms with the violin. It's fun to hear a different sound with the instrument.” 

After intermission, Christina Courtin and her band took the stage. Courtin performed with clear, resonant vocals while simultaneously playing her complex violin compositions. Her band features piano, acoustic guitar, electric bass, vibraphone and drum performances.

While the accompanying instrumentation of Courtin’s compositions is layered and intricate, her lyricism is colloquial and catchy. Courtin said that much of her musical inspiration comes from the mundane. She takes an interest in the mundane things in life, she said. The lyrics from her song “Fanblade” exemplify this. 

“I’m a blade on a fan,” she sings. “You can call me fan blade, why don’t ya?”

Courtin’s latest album, “Situation Station,” explores heartbreak through a lens of hope and warmth. 

“I hope they take away some joy, some fun, maybe thinking about something a little differently,” she said. 

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