Palaver Strings

About the Artist

Since 2014, Palaver Strings has made its mark as one of New England’s most innovative chamber ensembles. The ensemble’s Co-Artistic Directors curate artistic programming collaboratively and democratically, rotating project direction and musical leadership. Some musicians also hold administrative roles. Each year Palaver presents a full concert season featuring diverse programming and world-renown collaborators, and offers music instruction to hundreds of students through the Palaver Music Center.
Palaver’s recent and upcoming engagements include appearances at Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, and the Kennedy Center, as well as residencies at Rockport Music, Longy School of Music, and Boston Center for the Arts. The ensemble has collaborated with artists such as Kinan Azmeh and Attacca Quartet, and commissioned works from Errollyn Wallen, Kareem Roustom, and Sato Matsui. Palaver’s 2022 album Ready or Not (Azica Records, 2022) received acclaim from The Guardian and left BBC Music Magazine “wanting more.” Our new album A Change is Gonna Come features Nicholas Phan and Farayi Malek on new arrangements of American protest songs. Palaver Strings is proudly represented by Ariel Artists.
Equally committed to education, Palaver launched the Palaver Music Center (PMC) in 2019. PMC programs offer pathways to musical development from birth through adulthood, including Early Childhood Music classes and string instrument lessons taught by Palaver musicians. Our programs seek to address inequities in access to music education, serving Portland families of diverse backgrounds. 60% of our students qualify for low-income subsidies, and 55% are first-generation immigrants, primarily from Angola, Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda. PMC, located in the Bayside neighborhood where many of our students live, serves as a central community hub for classes, lessons, and rehearsals. Palaver musicians also offer high school and college-level educational programming, including workshops, masterclasses, and a graduate course on Music and Community Engagement at Longy School of Music. In this experiential class, Palaver members guide students through the process of creating a real-life community music project.