Events
March 13: Marcel Khalife in Philadelphia
Al-Bustan is pleased to host acclaimed Lebanese composer, oud master, and singer MARCEL KHALIFE in Philadelphia on March 13, 2011.
Marcel Khalife’s work and longstanding contributions globally and in the Arab world will be honored in a concert led by Al-Bustan’s Music Director Hanna Khoury, featuring a large ensemble of singers and instrumentalists performing a selection of Khalife’s repertoire. This concert will be Khalife’s introduction to the Philadelphia community. He will return next year as he tours with his Al-Mayadine Ensemble to perform at the Kimmel Center.
Featured performers:
• Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble
• Moffet, Northeast, Motivation, and Science Leadership Academy Schools
• Wilmington Children’s Chorus
Date: Sunday, March 13, 2011
Time: 4:30pm
Location: Trinity Center for Urban Life at 22nd and Spruce Street in Center City, Philadelphia
Admission: $30/person tickets
Trinity Center’s Great Hall seats about 330 people. Seating is general admission. We encourage purchasing your tickets in advance via paypal or a check sent by mail to Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, 526 South 46th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143.
Upon receipt of payment, we will mail tickets to you up until March 9th, after which you can pick up your tickets at the lobby.
Questions? Contact Al-Bustan or call 267-809-3668.
Nov 17: Nathalie Handal in Philadelphia
Al-Bustan is pleased to host NATHALIE HANDAL for a 5-day poetry residency at Northeast High School. She will work with 10th and 12th grade students on writing their poetry to be compiled in an anthology. Her residency will culminate on November 19th with a performance of poetry and music of Arab, Jewish and African-American traditions in partnership with Intercultural Journeys musicians Udi Bar-David, Hanna Khoury, Hafez El Ali Kotain, and Keisha Hutchins.
In addition, Al-Bustan and Villanova University’s Center for Arab and Islamic Studies are pleased to present:
A POETRY READING BY
NATHALIE HANDAL
Poet, Playwright, Writer
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 7:30pm
Fedigan Room 300 at St. Augustine Center
Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085 / See Campus Map
FREE and Open to the Public
For more information, contact Al-Bustan at 267-809-3668.
* * *
Nathalie Handal is an award-winning poet, playwright, and writer. She has lived in Europe, the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Arab world. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications, including Ploughshares, Crab Orchard Review, and The Literary Review; and has been translated into more than fifteen languages. She was named an honored finalist for the 2009 Gift of Freedom Award. She has also been involved either as a writer, director or producer in over twenty theatrical and/or film productions worldwide.
Handal is the editor of The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology, winner of the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award, and coeditor of Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond.
Her poetry collections include, The NeverField, The Lives of Rain,, and most recently, Love and Strange Horses (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2010). Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Kumunyakaa writes: “This cosmopolitan voice belongs to the human family, and it luxuriates in crossing necessary borders.”
Handa has an MFA in Poetry from Bennington College, an MPHIL in Drama and English from the University of London, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Fiction from Humber College, Canada, and a BA from Simmons College.
To learn more about Nathalie Handal’s work, visit her website www.nathaliehandal.com
Fall: Arab Arts Continue at Public Schools
Students at Independence Charter School integrate geometric patterns with Arabic calligraphy
Al-Bustan’s Arab cultural arts programming continues at several Philadelphia public schools this fall. See some reflections on last year’s program at Northeast High School and Moffet Elementary School.
Stay tuned for more info. . . in the meantime, given the budget cuts faced by the School District of Philadelphia and few grants offered by foundations, we welcome your DONATIONS to help us support this free programming to public school students.
Oct 7: Moustafa Bayoumi in Philadelphia
The University of Pennsylvania, Al-Bustan, and CAIR-Pennsylvania are pleased to present MOUSTAFA BAYOUMI in a talk about his book
How Does it Feel to be a Problem?
Being Young and Arab in America
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010
Time: 5:30 – 7:30pm
Location: University of Pennsylvania at The ARCH Building, 3601 Locust Walk, Fireside Room – 2nd Floor
Free and Open to the Public
Mr. Bayoumi is an associate professor of English at Brooklyn College, the City University of New York. Born in Zurich, Switzerland and raised in Kingston, Canada, he completed his PH.D. in English and comparative literature at Columbia University. His book How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America was published by The Penguin Press in 2008. It received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, O (Oprah’s Magazine), Salon.com, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, among others. How Does it Feel then garnered two national awards, an American Book Award and the Arab American Book Award for Non-Fiction. It has been selected as the First Year Experience reading by several colleges. Bayoumi has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Sun-Times, and on CNN, FOX News (Detroit), Book TV, and National Public Radio, along with several European media outlets. Panel discussions on his book have been convened at The Museum of the City of New York, PEN American Center, and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.
This event is co-presented by:
Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
University of Pennsylvania’s Middle East Center, English Department, African Studies Center, Greenfield Intercultural Center, and Penn Arab Student Society, Muslim Students Association
and CAIR-Pennsylvania.
Al-Bustan has facilitated Mr. Bayoumi’s visit to Philadelphia. During the day he will give talks and lead workshops with high school students at Germantown Friends School and Northeast High School. His visit to NEHS is sponsored by The Middle East Center at UPenn.
July 7: Performance at Silk Road Series
Al-Bustan presents two performances, June 23 and July 7, at the Penn Museum’s Warden Garden.
Heralding the arrival of the Museum’s “Secrets of the Silk Road” Exhibit, a series of weekly concerts, featuring Arab, Middle Easter, and East Asian music, is open to the public, 5-8pm. Come enjoy a respite from the heat and sip drinks, enjoy light fare, explore the garden, while listening to live music. Select Museum galleries will be open. Event occurs rain or shine. Admission is pay-what-you-want at the door.
On June 23, the series will open with Director Hanna Khoury and members of the Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble performing a repertoire of classical Arab music from Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. Music begins at 5:30pm.
On July 7, Director Hanna Khoury returns with Hafez El Ali Kotain on percussion and Adeeb Refela on oud, to perform Egyptian music of Mohammad Abdel Wahab and The Three Musketeers, Al-Fursan Al-Talatha. Music begins at 5:30pm.
Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology – 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
June 20: Sunrise Drum Circle
Hafez El Ali Kotain and members of Al-Bustan Percussion Ensemble at Kimmel Solstice in June 2009
BYOD (Bring Your Own Drum) and join master percussionist Hafez El Ali Kotain for the annual drum circle to ring in the dawn as the sun rises over the glass roof of the Kimmel Center’s glass roof. Click here for schedule of Kimmel’s Summer Solstice Events.
Sunday, June 20: 5:30-6:30am
Commonwealth Plaza at Kimmel Center, Philadelphia
July 5-23: Al-Bustan Camp 2010
Al-Bustan Camp 2009
Al-Bustan’s 9th summer of Camp is held July 5 – 23, 2010 at Springside School in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia. This year’s theme explores the arts, culture and environment of the United Arab Emirates, and features two Emirati artists-in-residence.
The camp is open to elementary (2nd to 5th graders), middle (6th to 8th graders), and high school (9th to 12th graders) students of diverse backgrounds. A program in MUSIC, DANCE, DRAMA, ART, POETRY, and SCIENCE, along with ARABIC language, makes for a fun and richly engaging experience. High school campers have a three-week half-day program in ANIMATION (stop-motion claymation) in which they conceive, edit and produce short animated films; while the other half-day includes art, music and Arabic.
*****
Open House: Saturday, April 17, 2010, at Springside School, 1-3pm
Come to meet past campers, counselors, teachers and staff, and tour the facilities!
*****
Click for Camp Overview and to Register for Camp. To have a camp brochure mailed to you, contact us.
To see highlights in photos and videos of Camp 2009, click below:
June 28: Intro to Arab Music Course
AL-BUSTAN is pleased to partner with UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS to offer a new 5-day course for educators, musicians, and music enthusiasts!
INTRODUCTION TO ARAB MUSIC: Theory and Performance
Dates: June 28 – July 2, 2010; Mon-Fri, 9am – 5:30pm, with evening performance on July 2
Location: Springside School in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia
Deadline to Register: extended until June 13, 2010
Fee to Al-Bustan: $400
Fee to UArts: $450 for teachers seeking Pennsylvania ACT 48 credits; sign up at UArts Professional Institute for Educators for ED 8425 01 (3 graduate credits), and see full policy on tuition discounts — PIE offers a variety of tuition discounts as well as a $250 scholarship for teachers in the School District of Philadelphia.
Note: this $450 fee is in addition to Al-Bustan’s fee of $400.
Instructors: Director Hanna Khoury, Hafez El Ali Kotain, and Hicham Chami
Designed primarily for K-12 music teachers, as well as instrumentalists, vocalists and music enthusiasts, this course provides a rich and engaging opportunity to learn about the Arab culture and people by working with renowned musicians/scholars and gaining an appreciation of Arab music through playing an instrument, singing, and performing in an ensemble. Participants spend the morning learning about Arab music theory, melodic modes (maqam), and rhythm. In the afternoon, participants attend a lecture exploring the cultural traditions and music of Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. Each day ends with small and large group ensemble instruction in Arabic songs and playing the nay, qanun, and various percussive instruments. Teaching resources are provided to use and adapt in participants’ classrooms. The program week culminates in an evening reception and performance featuring participants and faculty. To supplement the program week, participants are invited to observe music instruction as part of Al Bustan’s Arabic language and culture camp for youth held at Springside School during week of July 5.
Download pdf of Course Flyer and Course Registration Form.
Any questions, contact Al-Bustan or call 267-809-3668.
Hanna Khoury - Music Director, Violin, and Vocals, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture / Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble
Hafez El Ali Kotain - Percussion and Vocals, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
Hicham Chami - Qanun, Arabesque Music Ensemble
June 4: Poetry Reading by Nathalie Handal
Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture and Middle East Working Group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting present a
POETRY READING BY
Nathalie Handal
Poet, Playwright, Writer
7-8:30pm, Friday, June 4, 2010
Rufus Jones Room of Friends Center, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia
Free and open to the public
Nathalie will be available to sign copies of Love and Strange Horses (2010), her most recent book of poetry. Her other publications include Language of a New Century: Poetry from the Middle East, Asia and Beyond (2008), The Lives of Rain (2005), The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology (2000), and The Neverfield (1999).
For more information, contact Al-Bustan at 267-809-3668.
Nathalie Handal is an award-winning poet, playwright, and writer. She has lived in Europe, the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Arab world. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications, including Ploughshares, Crab Orchard Review, and The Literary Review; and has been translated into more than fifteen languages. She was named an honored finalist for the 2009 Gift of Freedom Award. She has also been involved either as a writer, director or producer in over twenty theatrical and/or film productions worldwide.
Handal is the editor of The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology, winner of the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award, and coeditor of Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond.
Her poetry collections include, The NeverField, The Lives of Rain,, and most recently, Love and Strange Horses (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2010). Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Kumunyakaa writes: “This cosmopolitan voice belongs to the human family, and it luxuriates in crossing necessary borders.”
To learn more about Nathalie Handal’s work, visit her website www.nathaliehandal.com
