CANTON -- St. Lawrence University’s String Orchestra will present “Journey East with Journey West,” at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, in Peterson-Kermani Performance Hall located in Griffiths Arts Center.

The concert is free and open to the public.

Special guest artists include Journey West, an eclectic ensemble which explores folkloric musical traditions spanning the Middle East, Eastern and Western Europe, and North America.

Guest director Max Buckholtz will join Orchestra Director Christian Hosmer in leading the orchestra, guest vocalists and Journey West members on a musical adventure starting in Finland, through Romania and ending up in Turkey and Egypt.

Many of the selections will be unfamiliar to the audience and offer a truly diverse variation of musical styles, along with unique instruments such as the Oud, Daf, Darbuka, Riq, Bohdran and others.

One of the featured selections on the program, “Sprouts from the Rubble,” composed by Buckholtz, is a work written for two solo violins and full orchestra which gives expression to all the individuals who have been displaced due to wars and political oppression and those whose lives have been needlessly cut short.

The piece incorporates melodies and improvisations in the styles of traditional folk music, juxtaposing them with the sounds of strife and conflict and ending with the culmination of hope.

Learn more about Journey West at www.journeywestmusic.com.

The SLU String Orchestra is directed by Christian Hosmer and includes students, faculty and staff from St. Lawrence University, the Crane School of Music, and area high schools. For more information, please contact St. Lawrence's Department of Music at 315-229-5184.