CONCERTS INTERNATIONAL
Memphis
Equal parts passion, grit, and musical ecstasy, Sybarite5 is an intoxicating cocktail of genre-breaking artistry expressed through the virtuosity and musicality of its members.
About
Equal parts passion, grit, and musical ecstasy, Sybarite5 is an intoxicating cocktail of genre-breaking artistry expressed through the virtuosity of violinists Sami Merdinian & Suliman Tekalli; violist Caeli Smith; cellist Laura Andrade; and double bassist Louis Levitt. It’s the first ensemble of its kind to win the prestigious Concert Artists Guild competition and the group is constantly evolving, defying categorization, and keeping audiences on their toes.
The group has performed in 44 states and counting, from the Library of Congress, (Washington DC) to Anchorage Concert Association, (Alaska) as well as concerts in Sybarite5’s home of New York City at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, National Sawdust, Le Poisson Rouge, the Cell Theatre, and in late 2023, as part of Death of Classical’s “The Crypt Sessions” series. Sybarite5 has also appeared at festivals including Ravinia, Grand Teton, Aspen, Caramoor, Wolf Trap, Interlochen, Chautauqua and many others. International appearances include Canada’s Tuckamore Music Festival and ChamberFest Ottawa, the New Docta International Music Festival in Cordoba, Argentina, and the Osaka Festa in Osaka, Japan.
Dubbed “the millennial Kronos” (Theater Jones), Sybarite5 is chamber music’s most dynamic ensemble taking listeners on a musical journey of staggering breadth and depth with new works by living composers, as well as the group’s favorite selections from Radiohead, Coltrane, Komitas, Piazzolla, and Pete Seeger... but as Strings Magazine says “that doesn’t even begin to describe the range of their eclecticism or the depth of their repertoire. “
In October 2023 Sybarite5 released their latest studio recording Collective Wisdom which received global acclaim and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Classical Charts. The ensemble's discography includes four other critically-acclaimed recordings: Live from New York It's Sybarite5 (2020); Outliers (2018); Everything in its Right Place (2012) and Disturb the Silence (2010).
Alvie Givhan,
piano
Alvie Givhan has played with numerous pop, jazz and classical artists including Wayne Newton, Marvin Stamm, Mable John, Bill Easley, Slide Hampton, Joe Lovano, Roseanna Vitro, Luis Bonilla, Kathy Kosins, Mika Nakashima, Kirk Whalum, Kallen Esperian, Calvin Newborn, and Joyce Cobb. He has worked with the Jackson, Tupelo, and Memphis Symphony Orchestras and has been featured at the IAJE Conference in New Orleans.
Givhan is the featured pianist with the Jazz Orchestra of the Delta and is recorded on the release Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter (Summit Records). He can also be heard on the compilation Memphis Jazz Box (Ice House Records); his writing and playing can be heard on "In An Instant", recorded by Joseph Patrick Moore.
He has been a mainstay on Beale Street: from 2006 -2012 featured as legendary King's Palace and featured with Ruby Wilson at B.B. King's. He has an extensive background and is highly sought after in the contemporary gospel music scene; he served as Music Director for Peace Baptist Church in Memphis for 8 years and presently serves as the organist for New Hope Baptist Church.
“In a program of serial high points, there were too many to mention.” — The Washington Post