Bahar Ensemble

Bahar Ensemble is a Kalamazoo five-piece performing Middle Eastern music spanning Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish, Persian, and North African traditions. Founded in 2017 by Iraqi Kurdish violinist Ahmed Tofiq after he came to the US to pursue a master's in violin performance at Western Michigan University, the ensemble features Dr. Beau Bothwell on oud, Liz Youker on cello, and Dede Alder and Carolyn Koebel on percussion. They've performed at Blissfest, UrbanBeat in Lansing, Kalamazoo's New Year's Fest, and WMU. Tofiq also founded Orchestra Rouh, a youth training orchestra for Middle Eastern music sponsored by the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra.