Eylem Basaldi

EYLEM BASALDI, a Turkish-born violinist, was on the classical track at the New England Conservatory when she rediscovered her passion for Turkish folk music, and a wide array of musical traditions. She is now a member of several ensembles, including Dolunay, which plays the songs of the people of Turkish descent who lived across Rumeli, the southern region of the Balkans; and Sandaraa, a band that explores a vast repertoire of South & Central Asian material (from Balochistan, Afghanistan and beyond) while blending it with the sounds of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and more. She has performed in venues such as Symphony Hall in Boston, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in NY, and has appeared on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Show with the Indie Rock band Afghan Whigs. She has played and recorded with many groups including Grammy winner Snarky Puppy, Dave Brubeck, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and various on and off Broadway shows. Eylem is also a composer, a violin instructor, and tours widely in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.

Eylem is leading musician in Art2Action’s Eleven Reflections on September, and has been performing with the project since 2015.  Performances with Art2Action have included the 2016 National Asian American Theatre Festival, produced by CAATA @ Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage as part of the 2015 Women’s Voices Theatre Festival, the Apollo Theatre as part of the Women of the World (WOW) Festival, and La MaMa.  We look forward to working with Eylem on our upcoming project, DRONE.