March 10 & 11, 2023 7pm & 9:15pm
ARKAI channels the diversity of the world through genre-bending music, forging new possibilities for what a violin and cello can be. Winners of the 2021 Astral Artists National Auditions, their past engagements have included performances at The MET Breuer, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the 92nd Street Y. Their electronic debut composition, “Letters from COVID”, was featured at TED@PMI for a global audience of over 30,000 people from 182 countries. ARKAI is represented by Philadelphia-based Astral Artists.
ARKAI was recently commissioned by the Museum of Chinese in America to compose a work for their new exhibition Responses: Asian Americans Resisting the Tides of Racism. Other commissions have included a piece for Silver Lining Ltd’s Impact 5X initiative — a global economic justice project supporting hundreds of small business owners from underserved communities around the world.
Alongside performing, ARKAI creates programs in pursuit of a world in which the arts are inseparable from community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their initiative SupportNYC has helped raise over $80,000 in monetary support for small businesses and organizations like the MET Orchestra Musicians, Harmony Project, D’Addario Foundation, and Shakespeare Dallas through fundraising performances, spreading hope and healing to communities across the country through the power of the arts. ARKAI was recently honored with the 2021 Robert Sherman Music Education and Community Outreach Award presented by WQXR, The Juilliard School, and The Harold W. McGraw Family Foundation in recognition of their work through SupportNYC.
ARKAI was selected by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs and the Association of American Voices to participate in the ‘21-22 American Music Abroad season. Through this program, ARKAI will engage in exchange programs with underserved audiences around the world with little or no access to American music, demonstrating the power of cultural diplomacy as a tool to bring people together.
ARKAI is currently creating its debut album, Aurora, in collaboration with seven-time Grammy-nominated producer Joel Hamilton.
