Twice a year Skidmore gets lucky and somehow gets to host post-masters-level students of music from Julliard, Carnegie Hall, and the Weill Music Institute, which as wikipedia tells me—are all pretty big deals. The program, called “Carnegie Hall Premieres,” is somehow connected to the New York State Education Department and means Skidmore gets to host live performances of some pretty noticeable up-and-comers in the infamous world of classically trained musicians.

This semester’s Carnegie Hall Premiere features Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor performing his piece “Silent City.” The composition commemorates a Kurdish village in Iraq destroyed by Saddam Hussein, and if his resume didn’t impress you enough, Kalhor will be performing this piece on everybody’s favorite Persian bowed string instrument: the Kamancheh, which while impossible to pronounce, probably sounds pretty cool, I guess. There are two other classical pieces on the bill that night so if Kalhor doesn’t float your boat you can at least tell your grandparents you enjoyed some Schubert.

Friday October 3rd 8pm in Filene Recital Hall