About

Teslim is a folk quartet that performs modal music including Turkish classical repertoire, Turkish and Balkan folk music as well as original compositions by the ensemble members.

Our personnel includes Kaila Flexer, violin, tarhui; Elana Brutman, Cretan lyra with sympathetic strings; Gari Hegedus, oud, Turkish lutes, mandocello and other strings; and Joshua Mellinger, frame drum, dumbek, zarb (Persian goblet drum).

In Turkish, the word teslim means both “commit” and “surrender.” In Turkish music, teslim means “theme” or main melody—a composition journeys away from and returns home to its teslim, which becomes like a beloved and familiar character. Committing and surrendering are two sides of the same coin. If we are all commitment--technical practice, diligent study--we may not allow the spirit of the music to animate those sounds; if we are all surrender, our skills are not honed and we are unable express that spirit in a worthy vessel.

Music

In addition to being instrumentalists, each of us is a composer. We play our own compositions which are inspired by the traditional Turkish, Armenian and Greek music we also play. Our mentors and teachers are Ross Daly and Kelly Thoma and we often play compositions of theirs. Many of our arrangements include flights of improvisation.

Here's what PVV of Billboard Magazine said about our first CD, (we were a duo at that time).

“Teslim’s Kaila Flexer and Gari Hegedus are, respectively, a violinist and an instrumentalist of bewildering proficiency, including the oud, lauoto (an eight-stringed Greek lute), frame drums and viola. Together they make exquisite music, drawing inspiration from Sephardic, Greek and Turkish traditional sources. Their tunes are exotic, and their virtuosity is spellbinding."

Since that time, we have added Elana Brutman on Cretan lyra with 17 sympathetic strings, and percussionist Joshua Mellinger.

Videos