The Longing String: A Concert with Philip Graulty & Dimitris Mahlis

Join us for The Longing String, a meditative concert that explores the deep musical kinship between the oud and the classical guitar. LA-based musicians Dimitris Mahlis and Philip Graulty bring their artistry and friendship to Meditation Mount, blending the oud's haunting Middle Eastern tones with the classical guitar's rich, melodic voice.

Together, they journey through traditional melodies, original compositions, and improvised interludes, highlighting the two instruments and their shared roots. Akin to a vocal cord, the longing string that connects Mahlis and Graulty, oud and guitar, will sing!

The evening will feature timeless Rumi poetry woven throughout the performance and conclude with a peaceful walk to our viewpoint for sunset - a perfect harmony of music, poetry, and natural beauty.

"The two friends decided that the answer

was a long, a longing!, string, with one end tied

to the mouse's foot and the other to the frog's,

so that by pulling on it their secret connection

might be remembered and the two could meet,

as the soul does with the body."

— Rumi, The Long String

Philip Graulty is a Los Angeles-based guitarist, composer, and educator whose musical world lies at the intersection of classical, jazz, and folk music traditions. His artistic practice explores music as a form of memorial, offering, and healing, and his unique approach to the guitar is informed by myriad styles including classical guitar, contemporary jazz, and fingerstyle blues.

Philip is a co-founder of Bridge to Everywhere, a new music collective that explores connections between diverse musical traditions. He is also a regular collaborator with the chamber group Salastina and the experimental opera company Four Larks.

Performance highlights include BBC Proms, Los Angeles Philharmonic's Minimalist Jukebox Festival, Angel City Jazz Festival, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and World Festival of Sacred Music.

Outside of performing and composing, Philip is a dedicated educator and social justice advocate. He is on the music faculties of Mount Saint Mary's University and Cal Poly Pomona and is a teaching artist with Street Symphony, an arts nonprofit that utilizes music to create opportunities of human connection to homeless and incarcerated communities in Los Angeles.

Dimitris Mahlis is a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Los Angeles. Since coming to LA, Dimitris' skills on oud, guitar and other stringed instruments have led him into a rich variety of performing and recording experiences with some of the best domestic and international artists in the Los Angeles area.

Dimitris has had the good fortune to receive training in both Western and Eastern musical systems. First at the Berklee College of music in Boston, later Oud and makam Studies in Istanbul Turkey with Master Necati Celik. Dimitris's playing style on multiple instruments has been described as Earthy, poetic, soulful and original.

Dimitris has performed and toured throughout the world with artists such as Perla Batalla, A.R.Rahman, Axiom of Choice, Dionisis Savopoulos, Niyaz, and Freddie Hubbard. He has also performed in all the major venues in Los Angeles, including The Greek Theater, Disney Hall, and The Wiltern.

He composes all the original music for his projects including 6 albums with His duo project "Wahid" "Protoleia" with the Mahlis- Panos Project, "Prana" with the trio Prana and "Aphrodite Moves On" with his electric guitar based quartet, Babaghanoush. He is currently preparing a series of solo oud recordings for release.

Arrival guidelines: The Meditation Mount gate opens 30 minutes before the concert begins, creating space for quiet reflection and communion with the land. To honor the sacred container we create together, gates close 15 minutes after the concert starts with no late entry permitted.

To preserve Meditation Mount as a sacred space, we have a policy of no pets, no picnics and no alcohol.

Thank you for understanding and honoring this request.

Cancellation & Refund Policy: Should we need to cancel an event or visitation experience, we will notify you via email within eight hours of the scheduled event time and issue a full refund. To cancel your reservation, please contact Connect@meditationmount.org. Refunds are subject to $1 processing fee per ticket. Any cancellations made within 24 hours are not eligible for a refund. Rescheduling to another date incurs no additional cost.ade within 24 hours are not eligible for a refund.