GARDINER — Palaver Strings will present “Welcome Home” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, at Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center. Doors will open a half-hour before the show.

“Welcome Home” celebrates the vitality of Maine’s immigrant communities through music and storytelling. Palaver Strings will collaborate with guest artists of French Canadian, Rwandan, Burundian and Iraqi heritage, sharing traditional music and personal stories of their families’ journeys to Maine. As they tour with the program around Maine, they will celebrate Maine’s cultural diversity, reflect on their own histories, and create space for dialogue between listeners from different backgrounds. Members said they believe deep listening and empathy for unfamiliar experiences are an important part of making Maine a safe and inclusive home for everyone.

Palaver Strings is a Maine-based musician-led string ensemble and nonprofit organization founded in 2014. Now in its sixth season, Palaver has established itself as a forward-thinking ensemble whose mission is rooted in the community and creative programming. Palaver has performed at the Kennedy Center, a celebration of the Lullaby Project at Carnegie Hall, and has toured the East and West coasts of the United States.

Palaver was Ensemble-in-Residence at the Boston Center for the Arts from 2017-2019 and continues a longstanding residency at Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport. This season, Palaver is a resident ensemble at the Shalin Liu Center in Rockport, Massachusetts. Equally passionate about education, Palaver has recently launched the Palaver Music Center in Portland, fostering creativity and dialogue and making high-quality music education accessible to students of all backgrounds.

Tickets are $16 for all seats in advance and $19 at the door the night of the show. Tickets are available at Johnson Hall’s Box Office from noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, at 207-582-7144 or by visiting their website at www.johnsonhall.org. Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center is located at 280 Water St.

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