
The September 4th event will feature local poet Frank Beltrano, followed by many open mic readers.
The Light Of East Ensemble will begin playing earlier than our live music normally does, at 6:15 instead of 6:30, and will play until the poetry begins at 7:00, also during the intermission and for half an hour after the poetry, from about 9:00.
The Light Of East Ensemble, a London-based instrumental group, performs music from the Near and Middle East, including traditional, folk, classical Arabic, Greek Rembetika, and modern urban music of the 20th century from regions such as Armenia, Greece (Asia Minor - Smyrni, and Konstantinoupoli), Turkey, and other Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria.
The Light of East Ensemble are the winners of the 2013 Jack Richardson Music Award, and the 2013 London Music Award in the category of World Music, also the winners of the 2011 Jack Richardson Music Award in the category of World Music and a London Music Award in both 2011 and 2008. The group’s music may not be what Western listeners grew up hearing, but the rhythms and melodies are instantly captivating and listeners are quickly drawn into the intensity of the music.
The Light of East Ensemble has appeared in various venues in Southwestern Ontario including at the Aeolian Performing Arts Centre, TD Canada Trust Sunfest, Sunfest World Music and Jazz Series 2009 - 2010, Home County Folk Festival, Mill Race Folk Festval, Stratford Summer Music Festival, Museum London, War Memorial Hall, Innes Town Hall, and the River Run Centre. Light of East also performs educational concerts for schools.
The musicians in Light of East come from different musical backgrounds and experiences but all share a love for the music. Their passion for the exotic sounds of the music they create is immediately apparent to the listener. CBC’s “In Town and Out”, “Bandwidth”, and “The Bridge”, have broadcast their music.
CD: ‘Beyond Our Shores’: For The Beat’s review, see page 22.
For many audio and video samplings
Audio tracks: From a Greek folk song
From a traditional Arabic song
THE SEPTEMBER 4TH EVENT
WHERE: Mykonos Restaurant terrace, 572 Adelaide St. N., London. Admission is by donation. Overflow parking available across the side street and in the large lot one block north, in front of Trad’s Furniture.
LIVE MUSIC: will open the event at 6:15, featuring local The Light of East Ensemble.
FEATURED POET: At 7:00, local poet Frank Beltrano will read.
OPEN MIC: Following the featured poet, there will be about 1.5 hours of open mic, ending at 9:00 pm. Each poet has five minutes (which is about two good pages of poetry - but time yourself at home). Names are selected at random.
RAFFLE PRIZES: Anyone who donates to London Open Mic Poetry Night receives a ticket for a raffle prize, three of which will be picked after the intermission. The prizes consist of poetry books donated by Brick Books and The Ontario Poetry Society. Donations are our only source of income.