National Sawdust Presents: Silkroad Up-Close featuring Yacouba Sissoko & Mike Block Duo and Maeve Gilchrist and Seamus Egan

National Sawdust Presents: Silkroad Up-Close is a National Sawdust–hosted performance series in Brooklyn that brings Silkroad’s cross-cultural chamber ethos into an intimate setting. Drawing on the nonprofit ensemble founded by Yo-Yo Ma, the programs pair contemporary-classical writing with improvisatory practice and close listening.

Silkroad is a not-for-profit ensemble launched in 1998 by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, built around collaboration across musical lineages linked, in spirit, to the old Eurasian trade routes. In New York City, the group has brought its “Silkroad Up-Close” format to National Sawdust, foregrounding small-group encounters rather than large-scale spectacle.

Yacouba Sissoko is a kora player from Mali who is based in Harlem, bringing the 21‑string West African harp-lute into New York’s contemporary music circuit. His work often moves between composed frameworks and open improvisation, shaped by collaborations across jazz, pop, and contemporary-classical scenes.

Mike Block is a cellist, vocalist, composer, and arranger whose work moves between classical craft and collaborative, cross-genre settings. In New York City he has appeared at National Sawdust, including Silkroad Up-Close programs that place small ensembles and improvisation in close view.

Séamus Egan is a classical musician and arranger whose work often sits at the meeting point of written score and collaborative performance. In New York City, he has appeared at National Sawdust in programs such as National Sawdust Presents: Silkroad Up-Close, sharing the stage with Silkroad artists including Yacouba Sissoko and Mike Block, alongside Maeve Gilchrist.