Negar Afazel + mj epperson

This violin/bass duo presents music ranging from folk, jazz, tango, and everything in between. These two musicians met at WMU, and have made their mark on the Kalamazoo scene. Negar Afazel, originally from Tehran, Iran, has served as the concertmaster for WMU's University Symphony Orchestra for the last 3 years, and recently performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major with the USO after winning this year's concerto competition. Besides classical, Negar is a very diverse musician who has collaborated with jazz and tango ensembles, new music composers, and local hip-hop band Last Gasp Collective. Before moving to Kalamazoo, she studied music for 2 years in Germany and got the chance to perform at the Orfeo Music Festival in Italy. Originally from Ann Arbor MI, mj epperson has spent over a decade composing and performing many kinds of music. A wide breadth of opportunities has allowed mj to become a versatile artist: Performing with artists such as Meghan Stagl, Fiona Dickinson, Benje Daneman, Lauren Deming, John Proulx, and Sam Cooper; Being part of several jazz ensembles including MNOE, WMU’s Gold Company and Advanced Jazz Ensemble, and the two-time Downbeat Award winning band, Lushh (which just released their debut LP, self-titled).