press kit
bio
Since 2014, Grammy-nominated 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, Newport Classical, National Sawdust, and the Kennedy Center, as well as residencies at Ithaca College, 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 latest release A Change is Gonna Come (Azica Records, 2024) features Nicholas Phan and Farayi Malek on reimagined American protest songs. The Grammy-nominated album was praised for its “fresh, galvanizing sound” (Bay Area Reporter) and named one of Gramophone’s favorite classical recordings of the year.
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 graduate courses on Music and Community Engagement. We have partnered with organizations such as Ithaca College, Peabody Institute and the Longy School of Music
musicians
Violin
Bree Fotheringham, Grant Houston, Kiyoshi Hayashi, Maïthéna Girault, Maya French, Teagan Faran
Viola
Brianna Fischler, Elizabeth Moore, Lysander Jaffe
Cello
Kamyron Williams, Matthew Smith
Bass
Nate Martin
Photography by Titilayo Ayangade
about “palaver”
“Palaver” comes from the term “palaver hut,” a traditional setting for discussion and conflict resolution found in Liberia and other West African countries. In our early days as an ensemble, we gave benefit concerts for the Liberian Education Fund, an organization co-founded by our Managing Director Maya French, and were inspired by the concept of the palaver hut, as we seek to come to creative agreement when we make music. This concept has remained central to our vision as we expand our outlook to other social causes.
get involved with us
To get in touch with us, email info@palaverstrings.org