Shelley Thomas

Dubbed “One of the most eclectic of New York’s elite singers” by NY Music Daily, Shelley is a professional vocalist specializing in Eastern European and Arabic styles. She sings in over fifteen languages with disarming fluidity, authenticity and emotion. She has taught workshops, recorded, performed and toured nationally and internationally with various World Music ensembles and artists including Kronos Quartet, Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, Hassan Hakmoun, the New York Arabic Orchestra, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Vlada Tomova’s Bulgarian Voices Trio, and Black Sea Hotel. She has performed at festivals such as Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Vancouver Island Music Festival, and Abu Dhabi Festival. She was a recipient of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts’ Traditional Arts Development Grant in 2012, and recently attended artist residencies at Canada's BANFF Centre and the Avaloch Music Institute. Shelley will be releasing her debut album of Bulgarian songs in early 2016. Shelley lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Brooklyn Takht is a new ensemble comprised of Arab and American musicians from the New York Arabic Orchestra. Recreating classic Arabic songs from the Golden Era, they tell tales of unrequited love and inextinguishable passion through complex forms and modes. Lusciously ornamented melodies and evocative poetry stir the ancient spirit of this rare musical form.