Arab Music Ensemble
The Arab Music Ensemble combines singers and instrumentalists from among students and the larger San Luis Obispo community in performances of classic repertoire from Arabic and historically related cultures. World-class guest artists add to the concerts of traditional and contemporary music involving melodic and metric modes played on instruments including oud, nay, qanun, violin, cello, bass, accordion, guitar, riqq, daff, tabla and more. Shows feature diverse musical genres and beautiful folk dances in support of the ensemble’s educational mission.
Spring Concert
Saturday, June 8, 2013
8 p.m., Spanos Theatre
The Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble and guest artists will perform a diverse program of music and dance from the Eastern Mediterranean and larger region for its spring concert.
The concert will feature some of the most celebrated musical and poetic repertoire from the Middle Ages to the present. Renowned composers and performers include Farid Al-Atrash of Syria and Egypt, Umayma Khalil, Marcel Khalife, Fairuz, the Rahbani Brothers of Lebanon, and Nadhim Al-Ghazali of Iraq.
Musical treasures made famous by Zeki Muren of Turkey and by Vigen and Pouran of Iran will add dimension to the program by bringing historically interconnected cultures and shared traditions of song to the stage, said Ken Habib, director of the 40-member Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble. Habib is a composer and performer with a doctorate in ethnomusicology and specializations in the Middle East and American popular music.
Critically acclaimed guest artists will include Egyptian violinist Adel Iskander Guirguis and Assyrian qanun player Ishmael. Ensemble lead percussionist Keeth CrowHawk will also perform, and San Luis Obispo dance director Saundra Sarrouf will lead her troupe in folk dances.
Tickets ($12 general, $9 seniors and students)
