Monthly Archives: January 2018

Documentary and presentation on Armenian Genocide in Detroit

SHALL NOT PERISH The Story of Near East Relief and The Near East Foundation Documentary and Presentation The documentary details the unprecedented humanitarian efforts of thousands of Americans who saved a generation of refugees and orphans in the aftermath of … Continue reading

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Jim Stoynoff, Greek/Macedonian Klarino

In a recent blog about Yiannis Roussos, I mentioned my friend Jim (Dimitri) Stoynoff. He is another phenomenal musician that is a bit of a walking encyclopedia of history about Middle Eastern music and more importantly, the scales (makams) which … Continue reading

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Fred Elias (1922-2018) – Legendary Violinist

Fred Elias was a legendary musician. An Arab violinist, living to an impressive age of 95 years old, passed away only a few hours ago from the publishing of this blog. He was well regarded throughout the country, especially in … Continue reading

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Greek Santouri player Yiannis Roussos

Several years ago, I met Jim Stoynoff, a Greek/Macedonian clarinet player from Chicago. We met at a Chicago music/folk dance festival that I attended because I knew oudist Joe Zeytoonian was coming in to play the gig and we had … Continue reading

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2018 Musical Resolutions … or Goals?

As the new year turns, we all have aspirational resolutions that we want to accomplish. We have all done it whether we write them down or keep them tucked in our minds. How many of those really get realized?! I … Continue reading

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