FEATURE
Behzad Habibzai presents an evening of flamenco guitar compositions, accompanied by Chriss Sutherland and Meghan Habibzai (vocals), and featuring Lindsey Bourassa (palmas & flamenco dance).
OPENER
Evros, a Balkan and Middle Eastern ensemble will open the night with a set at 7pm, including a pre-show (6:30 pm) dance lesson in several traditional Balkan and Middle Eastern dance steps so audience members can get up and dance to the music of Evros!
No Cover cost
About The Artists
BEHZAD HABIBZAI
Behzad is a music composer and flamenco guitarist who grew up in Portland, Maine. He began playing drums and classical percussion at 10, maintaining a busy schedule performing orchestral, jazz, punk rock, at rock clubs and symphony halls. At 14 he discovered flamenco guitar, going on to perform with several international artists. Behzad composes and produces flamenco and orchestral music for digital streaming, films, and documentaries. Behzad often collaborates with his wife, Meghan Pilar Habibzai.
MEGHAN PILAR WHITTIER HABIBZAI
Meghan is a vocalist, arranger, composer and conductor. Her experience in choral music, art song, opera, musical theater, jazz, and bluegrass have resulted in performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Capitol Lawn in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, and many others, as a soloist and ensemble artist. She was a member of the Soldiers’ Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band from 2007-2019 and performed in the 48 contiguous states, Puerto Rico, and Spain. Meghan had her choral arrangements sung on National tours by the Soldiers’ Chorus, including her reimagining of the “Coventry Carol” at Baltimore’s Lyric Theater. Meghan met renowned Spanish composer Antón García Abril in 2012 at the Escuela Supérior de Canto in Madrid, and sang in masterclasses led by the composer in 2012 and 2013. She gave a recital in his honor at the Spanish Ambassador’s Residence in Washington, D.C. in 2016, and released a solo vocal recording titled “Canciones de Antón García Abril” in 2020, accompanied by pianist R. Timothy McReynolds. Meghan gave a lecture recital and masterclass on Spanish art song at University of Southern Maine’s Osher School of Music in 2024. Frequently collaborating with her husband, flamenco guitarist and composer Behzad Habibzai, they perform concerts featuring Spanish canciones and flamenco music, most recently at Blue, Mayo Street Arts and Space Gallery with FLOR. Meghan joined USM's Osher School of Music adjunct Voice faculty in the 2025-2026 school year. For more, visit meghanhabibzai.com.
CHRISS SUTHERLAND
Although new to cante Flamenco, Chriss Sutherland has been a musician for thirty five years working with groups such as Cerberus Shoal, Fire on Fire, Olas, and SNAEX. He brings a reverence and curiosity to cante Flamenco as well as a desire to unlock his inner door to unleash the emotional burden within. Chriss is also a father, a partner, and a public school teacher.
LINDSEY BOURASSA
Lindsey is a flamenco dancer, choreographer, teacher, community builder and the founding executive and artistic director of FLOR. Lindsey received her Master of Flamencology Degree from Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain) in 2019 and her Certificate of Professionalization in Flamenco Arts at El Centro de Arte y Flamenco de Sevilla (Seville, Spain) in 2012. She has dedicated herself to the study of flamenco since 2004, predominantly in Sevilla, Spain. In her choreographic work, Lindsey creates flamenco performances that illustrate multifaceted storytelling, often woven together with original, creative prose. Having performed and taught in Spain and throughout New England, she has now settled in her home state of Maine, where her heart feels full to be creating and cultivating Maine’s first prominent and growing flamenco community. Her work on all fronts is inspired by the belief that art ignites magic, cultivates connection, uplifts diverse and uncensored stories, and has the potential to foster stewardship of each other and the earth.