For Indian slide guitar, string quartet, and spoken word
Duration: approx. 75 minutes
Language: Dutch / English
“Hamid’s music is forbidden in his country of birth. Now he plays what he wants to be heard.”
Hamid Reza Behzadian connects Persian and Middle Eastern melodic traditions with the expressiveness of the American blues.
Through the Indian slide guitar, he immersed himself deeply in North Indian classical music, where improvisation and microtonal refinement play a central role.
In Confluence, his sound world meets that of the Alma Quartet.
The Alma Quartet moves with ease within the classical string quartet repertoire, while actively seeking encounters with contemporary and interdisciplinary forms.
Their interest in new musical languages and collaborations beyond the canon makes them a natural partner in Confluence. Here, they meet the sound world of Hamid Reza Behzadian as equal interlocutors, in a dialogue between the European quartet tradition and microtonal, improvisatory structures.
Confluence, a coming together, is a musical performance in which the Indian slide guitar of Hamid Reza Behzadian meets the string quartet within a dynamic field of microtonality, raga, blues, and European chamber music.
Spoken text functions as an inner voice, deepening what is touched musically.
As
Heitor Villa-Lobos connected Brazilian traditions with the European canon,
Béla Bartók built a bridge between folk music and the classical avant-garde,
George Gershwin brought together jazz and symphonic forms,
so Confluence explores how musical traditions can meet without losing their own identity.
In Confluence, traditions are not merged, but attuned to one another.
Music forms the heart of the performance.
Spoken word deepens what the music touches and gives language to themes such as diaspora, loss, imagination, and hope.
The personal histories behind this music, often rooted in diaspora, resonate strongly in a time when cultural identity and artistic representation are central to public discourse.
Confluence offers no statement, but an encounter.
Not an illustration of diversity, but an audible dialogue.
Artistic director & arranger
Kay Sleking
Direction & dramaturgy
Sieta Keizer
Soloist
Hamid Reza Behzadian — Indian slide guitar
Alma Quartet
(musicians from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra)
Marc Daniel van Biemen — violin
Benjamin Peled — violin
Jeroen Woudstra — viola
Joris van den Berg — cello
Actor
To be announced
The artistic team for Confluence has been assembled.
The first working period will begin shortly.
A first public presentation / try-out is planned for May 2026.
The premiere is scheduled for October 2026.
Confluence is suitable for both theatrical venues and context programmes focusing on identity, diaspora, and musical encounter.
Programmers and partners who wish to get involved at an early stage, as a try-out venue, co-production partner or presenting venue, are warmly invited to get in touch.
A first trailer will be released in April 2026, featuring rehearsal footage and musical excerpts.
Would you like to be among the first to access the trailer and receive additional information?
Leave your details via the contact button below.
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