A Walk in Wild Herbs

by Tim Hazell and Turkkan Osman

January 5th, 2010, Cameo Performance at St. Paul's Church, San Miguel de Allende

(article by Russ Archibald)

Tim Hazell and Turkkan Osman Dear Friends of Turkkan and All San Miguel Music Lovers,

"A Walk in Wild Herbs," an instrumental suite now being composed by Tim Hazell and Turkkan Osman, will be previewed at a free concert on Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 5:00pm, in St. Paul’s Church. This free concert, taking advantage of Turkkan Osman’s presence in San Miguel on his Winter Break from the Manhattan School of Music, will also feature a movement from Beethoven's "Spring" Sonata, with Grammy award winning Ken Bichel on piano and Turkkan Osman on violin, and solo violin plus solo piano performances by Turkkan. The program will be:

Corrente from D minor Partita - J.S. Bach Solo violin: Turkkan Osman
Violin Solo Improvisation - Turkkan Osman 
Piano Impromptu - Turkkan Osman  
Allegro from Sonata #5 "Spring" for Violin and Piano
- Ludwig von Beethoven		 Piano: Ken Bichel
Violin: Turkkan Osman
"A Walk in Wild Herbs" - Tim Hazell and Turkkan Osman
An instrumental Suite of Nine Movements:
Several of these movements will be previewed, as announced at the concert:
  1. Fresh Cilantro - oud, violin, Mesoamerican effects
  2. Season of Temperament - 12-string guitar, violin, Mesoamerican effects
  3. Earthly Pleasures - sitar, violin, Mesoamerican instruments and percussion
  4. Ancient Sprint - electric guitar, violin, Mesoamerican instruments
  5. Black Herbs - 12-string guitar, violin
  6. Gigue - dulcimer, violin
  7. Andalusian Potpourri - sarod, violin
  8. )
  9. ) These movements with piano and other instruments are still in progress.


We are especially pleased that Ken Bichel, our world renowned pianist and keyboard artist, will collaborate with Turkkan on the Beethoven sonata.

This first collaboration by San Miguel composers/musicians Tim Hazell and Turkkan Osman is an instrumental suite in nine movements featuring a wide range of instruments. Tim Hazell, who is widely acclaimed for his musical compositional works and performing appearances, as well as his artistic achievements in fine arts (painting, batik, and other media), theater, education, and creative writing, will perform on a number of very different instruments, including the oud, sarod, 12 string guitar, electric guitar, sitar, dulcimer, mesoamerican flutes, silbatos, ocarinas, effects, and unusual percussion devices. Turkkan Osman Macias, presently a student at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music in New York, will perform on violin and piano.

This preview performance will feature several of the nine movements as a preview of the entire work to demonstrate the power of theme development on these diverse instruments, blending the compositional and improvisational skills of these composer-performers, reaching back to the “impromptu” and “fantasy” styles of many of our classical and romantic composers, and combining these with modern interpretations of those themes. The full, completed suite of nine movements will have its world premiere in the first half of 2010 here in San Miguel at a place and time to be announced.

Tim and Turkkan hope this and subsequent performances of "A Walk in Wild Herbs" will lay the groundwork for a future "New Horizons" series of premieres, bringing together the fresh new talents of emerging musicians/composers, who have been recognized for their potential by the community, with established artists. This concept is fundamental to providing a true continuum of innovation, creativity and new repertoire that meet national and international standards. The creations, scores and recordings will share the unique characteristics that emerge only when seasoned experience on the one hand is combined with the sense of wonder and willingness to venture into new territory that is the natural province of youth.

This is the most recent of a concert series presented here as a way of saying thanks to the many Friends of Turkkan who, together with the San Miguel Community Foundation, have made it possible for him to advance his education and training at the highly competitive Manhattan School of Music. Free will donations will be accepted.

I look forward to seeing all of you at this exciting concert — if you are here in San Miguel on January 5th.

Yours musically,
Russ Archibald