Labyrinth New England is a new organization dedicated to presenting traditional and contemporary modal music of the Mediterranean, Middle East, North Africa, Central, and South Asia as a holistic art form that transcends national borders. We offer educational outreach, workshops, concerts, and other opportunities to study and perform this music to students and professionals of all ages and skill levels. Our first major event will be the Labyrinth New England Festival on March 1-2, 2025 in Belmont, MA. To find out more info about the festival, our monthly Modal Music Session (free and open to the public), and other local modal music events, vist www.labyrinthnewengland.com

Mal Barsamian comes from a family of oud (lute) players across multiple generations and is a specialist in music written by Armenian composers active in Istanbul during the later years of the Ottoman Empire. He has performed on oud, clarinet, dumbeg, guitar, bouzouki, and saxophone in Armenian, Greek, and Middle Eastern communities for over 35 years throughout the US. Locally he has performed with the late Esber Korporcu, an important figure in Boston’s Middle Eastern music community, as well as with Mehmet Sanlikol’s Dünya organization. Also trained as a classical guitarist, he obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in classical guitar performance, studying with Robert Sullivan at NEC. Barsamian is also on the applied faculty at Tufts University’s World Music. 

Grammy® nominated Cypriot percussionist George Lernis, has recorded and collaborated with acclaimed artists such as: John Patitucci, Danilo Pérez, Antonio Sanchez, Anat Cohen, Dave Liebman, Miguel Zenón and A Far Cry String Orchestra just to name a few. His latest original work ''Between Two Worlds'' featuring world renowned bass player John Patitucci was released on June 10th, 2022. Jazziz magazine (Mark Holston) described Lernis’s latest record as "swelling rhythms and high-spirited melodies created by Cyprus native George Lernis for a program of improvisation-grounded performances blended with traditional Middle Eastern and Mediterranean music influences."

Tev Stevig is a Boston-based musician and educator whose work with contemporary modal music, traditional styles from the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, Afghanistan, North India and other Eastern modal traditions prompted the New York Music Daily to call him ,"one of the world's most brilliantly individualistic guitarists." He composes and performs on a variety of plucked string instruments from around the world, appearing in venues across North America and Europe. Tev's solo release, Jeni Jol: Music of the Balkans, Greece, and Turkey garnered universal praise from critics, with the Boston Globe commenting, "he initiates something new by connecting and combining seemingly disparate cultures," and was one of Acoustic Guitar Magazine's best albums of 2013. Tev is the artistic director of Labyrinth New England and an active member of the Labyrinth Ensemble in Toronto, Çeşni Duo/Trio, Orchestrotica, Czarna Wolgastar, Klezwoods, and the Late Risers.