Real Vocal String Quartet World Premiere and CD Release of Culture Kin

Real Vocal String Quartet in association with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on May 25 gives a one-night-only performance and cd release of Culture Kin, featuring original songs and pieces performed in collaboration with artists from San Francisco's international sister cities: Seoul, South Korea, Abidjian, Cote D'Ivoire, Barcelona, Spain, Zurich, Switzerland, Cork, Ireland, Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Osaka, Japan, plus composer George Brooks from Berkeley, CA.

"The idea grew out of a pivotal experience we had as cultural ambassadors for the US State Department in 2012," explains Irene Sazer, Real Vocal String Quartet (RVSQ) founder and director. "We performed and taught in five Eastern European countries -- Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Latvia and Lithuania -- where we also collaborated with local musicians and experienced the importance and joy of this cross-cultural work." She adds, "It has become our mission to add our voices to a global chorus in the hopes of bringing our world closer together through art."

This performance also marks the release of RVSQ's newest CD, also entitled Culture Kin, produced by Real Vocal String Quartet in collaboration with Women's Audio Mission (WAM).

The musician/composers of Real Vocal String Quartet are violinist Irene Sazer, fiddler Sumaia Jackson, cellist David Tangney and bassist Sam Shuhan. They are joined for this performance by collaborators Soo-Yeon Lyuh (haegum, traditional Korean violin), Fely Tchaco (vocals), Marta Roma (cello), Laura Inserra (hang drum), Mairtin de Cogain (vocals and bodhran) and Roberta Valente (pandeiro). Culture Kin will include an original composition by Grammy nominated artist George Brooks and visual art by Seiko Tachibana of Osaka Japan. Tachibana's mixed media on long paper panels will hang framing the stage space.