Sér Ensemble Brings the Oud Across Borders

That sense of conversation is fundamental to the Sér Ensemble. The name “Sér” means “love” in Armenian, while the Spanish verb “ser” means “to be.” Wartanian uses the word to suggest both presence and relationship: music as something created between people rather than simply delivered to an audience.

The concept is reflected in the ensemble’s members, whose histories stretch across countries and musical traditions. Guitarist Alexy Yeghikian and Wartanian first met in Armenia in 2012. Violinist Shant Tanielian, originally from Aleppo, Syria, met Wartanian there the following year. Bassist Jake Leckie was Wartanian’s college roommate in Baltimore in 2007–08. He was part of the recording process, but he moved to Boston. Percussionist T.J. Troy brings an expansive background spanning North Indian and Middle Eastern percussion, as well as contemporary classical music. Felix Kochendorfer, a Los Angeles-based bassist and audio engineer, is also part of the ensemble.

Those individual histories give the group’s intercultural ambitions some substance. This is not simply a collection of musicians performing music labeled “world” or “fusion.” The musicians themselves embody multiple migrations, musical educations, friendships, and encounters.

Wartanian had already released two albums of original music, but the COVID lockdown made it difficult to tour. While living in the New York area, he began spending more time with the oud—experimenting with the instrument, recording, jamming, and listening. He was particularly inspired by the oud playing of Ara Dinkjian, Simon Shaheen, Hamza El Din, Ahmed Alshaiba and Aly Eissa.

“Once I figured out all the pieces and wrote them down in tablature, which is a numerical system, I started looking for people to play with,” he said.

What began as an exploration of the instrument gradually became a much more ambitious compositional project. Wartanian had to figure out how to translate music conceived on the oud into parts that other musicians could interpret. He began writing arrangements for guitar and violin and developing sheet music for the ensemble. The musical notation has even found its way onto T-shirts, postcards, and bookmarks associated with the project.