The Arab Music Ensemble is joined by the Morro Bay High School Choirs and critically acclaimed guest artists for its Fall Concert! A special feature of the concert is the collaboration with the Morro Bay High School Choirs directed by Katie Bravante, a 1999 graduate of the Music Department.
The groups perform an adaptation of Joy Hirokawa’s arrangement of “Lamma Bada Yatathanna,” a foremost example of Arab art music. The critically acclaimed guest artists featured include Ishmael on qanun (zither), Fathi Aljarrah on kamanja (violin), and Faisal Zedan and Keeth CrowHawk on riqq (tambourine), daff (frame drum) and darabukka (goblet drum).
San Luis Obispo dance director Jenna Mitchell leads the dance troupe in the performance of original choreographies that dialogue with the program’s music. Music Professor Ken Habib is the director of the event.
The Arab Music Ensemble’s three annual concerts present a wide range of art, folk and popular music from Arab society as well as selected seminal pieces from the historically interconnected areas of Southwest Asia and North Africa. Programs also feature critically acclaimed guest artists whose professional skill and virtuosity add enormously to the performances and to the educational experience of the ensemble and audience alike.
