Educational Programs

1- The Heartland Seminar

The Heartland Seminar on Arabic Music is a six- day residential program focusing on classical Arabic music. The seminar is designed both for people who wish to begin their study as well as those who seek to improve their skills.

In addition to members of the AME, the seminar features internationally-recognized academics and performers offering individualized instruction, lectures, and workshops. Special sessions will be devoted to topics such as music marketing and promotion, composition, technical issues, and education.

The instructors to be involved are members of the Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble along with visiting scholars/musicians: Hicham Chami of Chicago on qanun, Hanna Khoury of Philadelphia on violin, Dr. Scott Marcus of Santa Barbara on nay, Naser Musa of Los Angeles on ‘ud, Karim Nagi of Boston on percussion, and Youssef Kassab of New York City on vocals. All instructors have extensive background in education and workshop-conducting in addition to being recording artists and performers.

The Heartland Seminar is sponsored by the Arabesque Foundation for Arab Culture, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to preserving the heritage of classical Arabic, Sephardic, Turkish, and Armenian music. The Arabesque Foundation promotes concerts, publishes a magazine, conducts educational workshops, and produces recordings.

The location is DeKoven Center in Racine, Wisconsin, a conference center on Lake Michigan. DeKoven is convenient to Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee, yet offers a secluded setting conducive to the seminar.

2- Lectures and Workshops:

Over the years, the Arabesque Music Ensemble members or guest artists have presented over 50 lectures addressing Arabic Music, for audiences ranging from Ethnomusicologists in University settings, to High School students, and community activists.

Below is an example od some of the lectures presented:

Arabic Vs Western Music, different approaches to playing, teaching, and writing - by Hanna Khoury

Hanna Khoury will be giving a lecture on how the approach to playing, teaching, and writing Arabic music differs from playing Western music. He will discuss the styles and approach to notation and the methodology involved in writing it. Using his violin, he will show how the manner of teaching the instrument differs from that of Western classical training. He will also discuss the evolution of the Arabic sound.

Changes in the concept of ‘Maqam’ over the last 200 Years - by Dr. Scott Marcus Performers in the eastern Arab world today play within the system of melodic modes, called the maqamat. Ideas and approaches to the maqamat have changed greatly over the last 200 years. Scott’s talk will address many of these issues, with musical example.

Historical evolution of Moroccan Andalusian music - by Hicham Chami Nowadays, Classical Moroccan music is often referred to as “Al Musiqa Al Andalussiyah”, literally, the Andalusian Music, a misleading confusion denying to the Moroccans their extensive input. Today’s Moroccan music owes a lot to Moorish people, but is also the product of numerous improvements which are essentially Moroccan. These improvements are found at different levels: rhythmic patterns, poetry, modes.... The Nawba, as known, sung, and recorded today, is the result of centuries of development and enrichment. Hicham’s talk offers an overview of the historical evolution of the Moroccan Nawba from the early days of Ziriab’s teachings to the recent wave of fusion music.

Beduin Music - by Naser Musa

The Arab gulf and the Beduin people have their veyown music: The Beduin music and its modern form, the Khaliji music. Naser will present a workshop on the so often non talked about Beduin Music. He will show and demonstrate through musical examples the various rythms to which this music, the specific instrumentation,

and the special melodic modes used in this music.

Home Reviews Performances Community Work
History Programs Recordings Contracting Entity
Mission Multimedia Contact Us Educational Programs