press kit
bio
Palaver Strings is a musician-led string ensemble and nonprofit organization based in Portland, ME. Founded in 2014, Palaver has established itself as a forward-thinking ensemble whose mission is to strengthen and inspire community through music. In our musician-led model, Palaver’s musicians share artistic and administrative leadership, guided by a passion for engaging new audiences, addressing social justice issues, and amplifying underrepresented voices. Each year, Palaver presents a full series of live performances featuring diverse musical programming, cross-genre projects, and community collaborations. Equally committed to education, Palaver offers quality music instruction through the Palaver Music Center in Portland, serving hundreds of students each year. Palaver has toured widely throughout the United States, performing at the Kennedy Center and a celebration of the Lullaby Project at Carnegie Hall. The ensemble recently released its third album, Ready or Not, in partnership with Azica Records. Palaver has enjoyed residencies at Rockport Music, Boston Center for the Arts, and Bay Chamber Concerts, and Longy School of Music (2022-2023). Palaver’s current residency at Longy includes regular performances and teaching a graduate course on music and community engagement.
musicians
Violin
Grant Houston, Jesse MacDonald, Josie Davis, Kiyoshi Hayashi, Maya French, Teagan Faran
Viola
Brianna Fischler, Elizabeth Moore, Lysander Jaffe
Cello
Kamyron Williams, Matthew Smith, Nate Taylor
Bass
Nate Martin
Photography by Titilayo Ayangade
about “palaver”
“Palaver” comes from the term “palaver hut,” a traditional setting for discussion and conflict resolution found in Liberia and other West African countries. In our early days as an ensemble, we gave benefit concerts for the Liberian Education Fund, an organization co-founded by our Managing Director Maya French, and were inspired by the concept of the palaver hut, as we seek to come to creative agreement when we make music. This concept has remained central to our vision as we expand our outlook to other social causes.
get involved with us
To get in touch with us, email info@palaverstrings.org