Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble to Perform March 7

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- The Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble will perform traditional and contemporary music and dance from the Eastern Mediterranean and larger Middle East at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 7, in the Pavilion of the Performing Arts Center.

The ensemble will perform vocal and instrumental selections from some of the most popular composers and performers of Arab art music, such as the legendary Sayyid Darwish of Egypt and the eminent Fairouz of Lebanon.

The program also will feature folksongs from the shared music culture of the larger region as well as folkdances choreographed by Saundra Sarrouf and Jenna Mitchell especially for this performance.

The 22-member ensemble, which made its debut last year, is under the direction of Music Department faculty member Kenneth S. Habib, a composer and performer who earned a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at UC Santa Barbara, with specializations in the Middle East and American popular music.

Guest artists on the program include Wael Kakish and Lana Khalaf of the Los Angeles-based Kan Zaman Ensemble, and ethnomusicology professor Ray Briggs of the CSU Long Beach Music Department.

Tickets are $10 for the public and $8 for seniors and students. A 10 percent discount is given to patrons who buy season tickets to four Music Department events through the Performing Arts Ticket office; a 15 percent discount is given on tickets to five or more events. 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. To order by phone, call SLO- ARTS (756-2787).

The concert is sponsored by the Cal Poly Music Department and College of Liberal Arts. For more information, call the Music Department at 756-2406.

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