3rd Annual Nick & Friends Benefit Concert for Capella Regalis

Director, composer, and drummer-percussionist Nick Halley is bringing together dear friends and powerhouse musicians to perform a spellbinding evening of original Middle Eastern and South Asian works. Originally from Damascus, Syria, clarinetist Kinan Azmeh brings his “spellbinding” (The New Yorker) music to all corners of the world as a soloist, composer, and improviser. French-Lebanese violinist and composer Layale Chaker was raised speaking multiple languages, both linguistically and musically. Her complex sound universe, described by NPR as “beguiling” with “bright and beautiful strands … gorgeous, wine-dark swirls,” lies at the intersection of contemporary classical music, jazz, Arabic music, and improvisation. Sri Lankan-born Canadian musician Dinuk Wijeratne is a boundary-crossing composer, conductor, and pianist, whose work “reflects a positive vision of our cultural future” (The Toronto Star). Nova Scotia’s award-winning jazz bassist, composer, and educator Tom Easley and of course Nick himself will complete the ensemble to explore through musical collaboration what the idea of ‘home’ means to us all.

Preview this ensemble's music by listening to their live performance of Dinuk Wijeratne's "This Way Up" at the Chan Arts Centre in Vancouver in 2023.