The sounds of the Middle East are coming to Cal Poly. Colorful costumes and intricate instruments will showcase a unique culture, as well as the talent of students and community members alike.
Encompassing an entirely different music theory, the Arab Music Ensemble will be performing in the Performing Arts Center showcasing traditional forms of Middle Eastern music and dance.
The 32-member group is comprised of both students and community members that have been preparing since January to put on what Cal Poly ethnomusicology professor Kenneth Habib said is sure to be an exciting and educational show.
Arriving at Cal Poly three years ago, Habib’s specialties in Middle Eastern and American popular music have allowed him to begin the ensemble, and with great success.
“This year we are doing a little bit more of a mix of music,” he said. “One of the things we try to show is that the larger Middle East is a very diverse place with a lot of inner-connection between groups.”
The students involved in the show are in a class aimed at helping them understand how to play traditional Middle Eastern instruments, as well as read notes and symbols that are not applicable to American music.
“Not only do you have to know how to play them, you have to know how to hear them,” Habib said. “It is very much like learning a new language.”
Instruments such as the Oud, a traditional lute, and the Buzuq will be featured, as well as an array of drums. Habib gives individual lessons to students in addition to class time, because as he said, “There is an enormous amount that might not be obvious that you would not expect a person to know.”
In addition to the music and songs, one of the highlights of the performance will be the dance segments. Jenna Mitchell and Saundra Sarouff of the World Rhythm and Motion Studio co-direct the dance portion of the ensemble and have been working with dancers on incorporating choreography and costuming that represent the Middle East.
The dancers are mostly community members with the exception of a few students, and they will be performing three dances in the show including two Egyptian dances and one Greek dance.
Mitchell said that people should be interested in this performance because it is something that we are not exposed to regularly as a community, and describes the performance as “amazing and intimate.”
“The dances compliment the music and are based on the culture,” she said. “It is important to show the common ground that we have, especially in the arts.”
“If someone has never seen Middle Eastern music or dance or the different costuming, and it is very different than Western music, it will be a great experience to see hear and feel a different culture,” she said.
Habib said that music is important to society no matter what genre or culture it comes from.
“Music is one of the few universals in the world,” he said. “It’s not a universal language, but rather it exists universally. I think sometimes we don’t realize how important it is.”
Habib described the show as an expression of a music culture in the world and an attempt to bring more cultural diversity to Cal Poly’s campus.
“It is certainly my aim that we would increase that,” he said. “I’d love to see a lot of expressions of culture on campus, music only being one kind.”
The ensemble is set to perform tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the public and $8 for seniors and students. They are on sale at the Performing Arts ticket office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.