Simon Shaheen's soaring technique, melodic ingenuity and unparalleled grace have earned him international acclaim as a virtuoso on the oud and violin. A. J. Racy, performer, composer and professor of ethnomusicology at UCLA, is a master of many traditional instruments, particularly the nay, a reed-flute, and the buzuq, a long-necked fretted lute. Together with Shaheen's Near East Music Ensemble, they will explore the legacy of Arabic music where it crosses borders and embraces an unbridled fusion of Palestinian, Arab, jazz, Western Classical and Latin American music, transcending the boundaries of both genre and geography.
What does it mean when people use the term “Arab world?”
Join us! for a pre-performance lecture and discussion by Saadia Malik, Ph.D., from the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas. Dr. Malik will guide us through the many cultural and geographic terms that describe the Arab world.
This lecture/discussion is being presented to provide contextualization and information related to the 7:30 performance by Simon Shaheen and Dr. A.J. Racy with members of the Near Eastern Music Ensemble. Simon Shaheen is one of the most celebrated Arab performers and composers of his generation. While remaining firmly rooted in his Arab musical tradition, Shaheen has incorporated numerous new styles into his musical repertoire to form a new type of Arab “world” music.
