For Your GRAMMY® Consideration
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Balourdet Quartet, EmmaLee Hicks, Piero Guimaraes
Best Contemporary Composition
Four Dances from Clorinda Agonistes
“The best new albums out Oct. 24”
Classical — Kareem Roustom, Shades of Night
— NPR Music, All Songs Considered
“Syrian American composer Kareem Roustom brings the music of Syria, Palestine and the Levant into the Western classical repertoire.”
— Violinist.com
About the Album
Shades of Night reflects Syrian American composer Kareem Roustom’s multifaceted Arab-Western identity while exploring music’s capacity to transcend cultural and geographic borders. Written between 2018 and 2023 and performed primarily by the Balourdet Quartet, the collection draws on melodic modes, rhythmic contours, and ornamentation from Arabic folk traditions across Syria, Palestine, and the Levant, weaving them into the harmonic and structural language of the Western classical tradition.
Across works shaped by folk song, dance, memory, and displacement, Roustom creates a musical dialogue between worlds—one rooted in longing, defiance, and hope. At its heart is a belief in shared humanity and in music’s ability to carry culture across borders, preserve what might otherwise be lost, and create deeper understanding between people.
Credits
Balourdet Quartet
Angela Bae, Violin (Violin 1 on tracks 5–13)
Justin DeFilippis, Violin (Violin 1 on tracks 1–4 and 17–20)
Benjamin Zannoni, Viola
Russell Houston, Cello
“Gnizo”
EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks, Violin
Piero Guimaraes, Percussion
Produced & Edited by: Kareem Roustom & John Weston
Creative Director, Phenotypic Recordings / Production Coordinator: Stephen Prutsman
Recording Engineer: John Weston
Assistant Engineer: Chris Wilson
“Gnizo” Recording Engineer: Peter Atkinson
Mixing & Mastering: John Weston at Futura Productions, Roslindale, MA
Album Art & Design: Kevork Mourad
Graphic Design: Christopher Kornmann
Recorded: November 1–3, 2023 at Futura Productions, Roslindale, MA
“Gnizo” recorded: November 10, 2023 at Distler Hall, Tufts University’s Department of Music.