Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens
Performing their latest flagship program Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and RItual.
Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens
Performing their latest flagship program Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and RItual.
Event Description
The Silkroad Ensemble’s latest flagship program with Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens is Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and Ritual. In this program, Giddens and the ensemble explore how to experience music to better understand the world, find comfort, process loss in a changing environment, and rebuild community based on humanity. Historically, when people have found themselves in a time of conflict or stress, they have always turned to music.
The idea of trance, something that can bring a deep peace that is hard to find in modern society, is profoundly tied to the communal music-making traditions found in many different cultures, from Morocco to India to Ireland, and is a way to build a stronger human connection amidst all the noise. In Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and Ritual, the musicians will delve deeply into one another’s music and traditions, such as Sicilian tarantella with Mauro Durante and Francesco Turrisi, Moroccan gnawa with Mehdi Nassouli, Indian classical music with Sandeep Das, American old-time with Giddens on banjo, and more, and invite audiences to join them as partners and participants in the performance, instead of solely as passive bystanders.
Related Links
Engagement Events
Life After Conservatory: A Conversation with Abra Bush, Rhiannon Giddens, and Francesco Turrisi
Auer Hall (200 S Eagleson Ave)
March 11: 3:15–4:15 p.m.
Join us for this insightful conversation with Abra Bush (David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean of the IU Jacobs School of Music), Rhiannon Giddens (artistic director of Silkroad Ensemble), and Francesco Turrisi (multi-instrumentalist in Silkroad Ensemble). Bush and Giddens are longtime friends and were classmates at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, as Turrisi tours with Giddens and Sllkroad. This conversation will speak on their various career paths after graduating from conservatory.
Recommended paid parking is available in the East Parking Garage (150 N Eagleson Ave.).
This conversation will also be available to watch anywhere through livestream and recording via LIVE@jacobs.
Faculty/Guest Voice Workshop with Rhiannon Giddens and Brian Gill
Sweeney Hall (200 S Eagleson Ave)
March 11: 6–8 p.m.
Giddens and her current voice teacher, Brian Gill, a Voice Professor at the Jacobs School of Music, will lead a workshop on vocal training and preparation.
Recommended paid parking is available in the East Parking Garage (150 N Eagleson Ave.).
Pre-Show Talk with Nia I'Man Smith
Fine Arts Building, Room 015
March 12: 6:30–7:15 p.m.
Join us for a pre-show conversation led by Nia I’man Smith, PhD Student, and ethnomusicologist whose research explores ancestor veneration in Black music, African cultural retentions, cultural memory, the Black diaspora, and Yoruba cosmology. This talk will provide rich historical and cultural context for Silkroad Ensemble, offering audiences new ways to listen, reflect, and connect with the performance.
Sanctuary Lobby Activity
IU Auditorium Lobby
March 12: 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Arrive early to explore Silkroad Ensemble’s interactive lobby experience, featuring artist stories, cultural traditions, and a participatory mural where you can reflect, respond, and connect through shared rituals and ideas of sanctuary.
Accessibility
Hearing Assistance
Wireless, infrared headset systems are available for all performances. Headsets may be used with or without a hearing aid and are distributed free of charge at coat check.
Run Time, Age, and Content Warnings
Run time is approximately 2 hours including intermission.
Recommended for all ages.
Prohibited Items
- Weapons of any kind
- Golf umbrellas
- Backpacks or any large bag measuring larger than 16"x16"x8"
- Outside food and beverages
- Posters or large signs
- Professional photo or video cameras
- Cigarettes/e-cigarettesIllegal drugs or paraphernalia
Calendar
Apr 2026
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