Songs for the People: Simon Shaheen

World Music Institute presents

Songs for the People: Voices of the Arab Renaissance
Simon Shaheen

Saturday, October 29, 2011 8:00 PM
Roulette
509 Atlantic Avenue (Corner of 3rd Avenue), Downtown Brooklyn

‘Ud (lute) and violin master Simon Shaheen, one of the Arab world’s most renowned musicians, performs a program celebrating the second renaissance of Arab music. This creative period from the 1950s and 1960s witnessed unprecedented repertoires reflecting national pride and identity. Shaheen is joined by three extraordinary vocalists - Nidal Ibourk from Morocco, Naji Youssef from Lebanon and Ali Amr from Palestine; the Near Eastern Music Ensemble, which features nine of the finest Arab artists living in the US, including core members Najib Shaheen (‘ud), Bassam Saba (nay - flute), Jamal Sinno (qanun – zither) and Michel Merhej (percussion); and a chorus. The concert includes works of such great composers as Egypt’s Mohammad Abdel Wahhab and Kamal Al-Tawil, and Lebanon’s Rahbani Brothers and Wadi Al-Safi.
“virtuosic sophistication”-- New York Times