Berklee International Folk Festival Celebrates 40 Years
Arooj Aftab BM ’10 performs at the Roundhouse in London, November 2024.
Patrick Gunning
Berklee’s 2026 spring Signature Series opens with the 40th Annual Berklee International Folk Festival, a weeklong celebration of cross-cultural talent from a globe-spanning range of musical and artistic traditions. The main event takes place February 5 at 8:00 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center and is headlined by Arooj Aftab BM ’10, a Grammy-winning singer, composer, and producer.
Directed by Christiane Karam and Vessela Stoyanova, the event brings together more than 150 students, along with faculty, alumni, and guest artists from Boston and around the world. Through a series of events and performances, it highlights the remarkable contributions of Berklee artists on local and global stages while fostering a welcoming space for meaningful intercultural dialogue and exchange.
“Celebrating anything indigenous feels so empowering and crucial right now,” said Karam, who will perform with her ensemble the Pletenitsa Balkan Choir. “We wanted to recognize the 40th anniversary because it is such an incredible achievement for our community, so we have merged the Middle Eastern Music Festival and the International Folk Festival into one weeklong event.”
“We have the great privilege of welcoming Arooj Aftab, my former student and now an internationally acclaimed artist, as the special guest performer for our main concert,” Karam added. “Arooj has inspired many artists at Berklee and her journey embodies the spirit of this milestone festival.”
Christiane Karam and the Pletenitsa Balkan Choir will perform at the 40th Annual International Folk Festival.
Image courtesy of the artist
Among the regions highlighted throughout the festival are Peru, Mexico, the Balkans, France, India, the Levant, Germany, Ukraine, North America, Spain, China, and Mali, with representation from six continents and over 20 cultures. The instrumentation for many of the performances are minimal and amplification-free, honoring the ritualistic traditions of the communities from where this music originated. The concert will also include a retrospective piece, developed in collaboration with the Berklee Archives team, featuring performances and special moments from past festivals that will be catalogued in a publicly available digital collection.
Beyond the main concert, the festival offers a variety of events at smaller venues across the campus, including a multinational craft fair, guest artist showcases, and student-led clinics featuring a range of musical traditions that resonate with each artist’s personal backgrounds.
“A big part of the festival is ensuring that our international students have the opportunity to connect with their identity in the context of their cultural roots,” said Stoyanova. “We give them a great deal of agency, to not only explore that aspect of their artistry but to shape the festival through that exploration.”
“This leads to an incredible amount of collaboration and cultural exchange as students discover new ways to fuse what they’re learning at Berklee with the rich traditions of their respective cultures,” Stoyanova added. “The resulting blend of instruments, styles, and voices that comes out in the music is truly beautiful.”
Admission starts at $19.50 in advance and $26.50 on the day of the show, with discounts available for Berklee students, faculty, and staff. This show will be seated. Tickets are available online.
