The Artist Recital Series returns to Oberlin once again with another year of world-class musicians leading masterclasses and performing in Finney Chapel. On September 13, the first concert of the series will see Grammy- nominated modern folk group American Patchwork Quartet grace the Finney stage as an installation of the Ed Helms American Roots Residency fund.
Multi-Grammy Award-winning guitarist and vocalist Clay Ross founded APQ alongside Grammy Award-winning vocalist Falguni Shah, internationally-renowned bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and Juno Award-winning percussionist Clarence Penn in 2020. They founded APQ with the mission of weaving together the immigrant experience in American folk music to create a “living patchwork of traditions and perspectives.” In an interview with The Bluegrass Situation, Ross described connecting with the group through friendship beyond music and wanting to deepen their collaboration from their own American backgrounds, no matter how widely different they were.
“For us to break the boundaries of continents and lines between us, we had to connect with the beautiful harmony of music,” Shah explained.
APQ released their debut album in February 2024, featuring 14 original tracks for a nearly hour-long transportative cultural melting pot of folk music. NPR’s Here & Now spoke with Ross and Shah in an album preview, offering praise for the group’s musical ingenuity in a perspective met with wide agreement; Mix Magazine described their work as “a breathtaking confluence of heritage roots, jazz, and world music influences,” and they rightfully earned a nomination for Best Folk Album at the 67th Grammy Awards.
Since their conception, their membership has shifted. At Oberlin, original members Penn and Ross will be joined with Chennai-born Carnatic violinist and vocalist Harini Raghavan and internationally acclaimed bassist Moto Fukushima. APQ’s visit to Oberlin marks a stop during their national tour. The quartet is travelling across the country through April 2026 to perform works from their album, displaying the virtuosity of their eclectic repertoire and the strength and creativity of cross-cultural expression in music. One of APQ’s founding initiatives was to be a touring ensemble for “people to look up on the stage and see this patchwork of American diversity,” Ross said in an episode of Roots Radio’s The String.
Prior to the concert, members of the quartet will host a career talk and three interactive workshops: two on Friday, September 12 and one on Saturday, September 13 for Oberlin students of all musical backgrounds. In these sessions, all held in Birenbaum Innovation and Performance Space, Ross and Raghvan will explore different aspects of musical work unique to APQ, from finding inspiration in folk music when composing to exploring Indian classical music and immigrant culture in American music.
APQ’s mission to showcase the strength of America’s cultural diversity through teaching and performance speaks to many in a time when resistance to diversity is becoming increasingly emboldened across the country. As APQ has shared, their diversity in their cultures, dreams, and histories is an asset to the music they create and pays homage to American immigrant history — a history that is actively being suppressed and rewritten. Music is one of the deeply rooted facets of cultures and diasporas across the world, and APQ is bringing that reminder to Oberlin and the rest of the United States.
Tickets for APQ’s Artist Recital Series concert Saturday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m. are available online now, and enrolled Oberlin students are able to claim free tickets to all concerts in the series this year. Tickets may also be obtained at the door with a valid OCID.
