A different sound of music
Kenny Casperson

The halls in the LSSU Arts Center reverberated last Thursday, October 27, with sounds of a type of music quite different from the rock, country, or hip-hop music that can be heard any given second across the campus, flowing from computers, stereos, MP3 players or and a plethora of other devices. No, Thursday nights performance was of an entirely different genre of music, perhaps one unfamiliar to most American ears (especially to us in northern Michigan, which is of course the social hub of all Earth, as LSSU students all know). 
Kayhan Kalhor and Erdal Erzincan, both originating from Turkey, brought some of their traditional Turkish and Persian music, Kalhor playing a Persian instrument called the Kamancheh (commonly known as the spike fiddle), and Erzincan on the Turkish Baglama (or saz, which is easier to pronounce). While the instruments look quite different from their western counterparts, any music lover would recognize the beauty of the music that the two played and (according to the flyers across the campus) actually improvised together for the audience that had gathered. No matter how different it may have been, the two played off one another remarkably, with the music making smooth transitions from fast to slow paces, and the players using their instruments as string instruments one moment, then changing to use them as a percussion instrument the next  a versatility often not seen in music here in the States. 
The duo is on tour now, promoting the release of a new recording of their combined music, something anyone looking to broaden the spectrum of their music collection should look into. 
