Middlesex Community College to Host Arabic Music Workshops

Middlesex Community College’s departments of Music and Global Education will host two Arabic Music Workshops from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. and from noon to 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, in the Federal Building Assembly Room, 50 Kearney Square, on the Lowell campus. Each session is free and open to the community.

The ‘ud, an ancient Arabic instrument with one of the most intricate and alluring sounds in Middle Eastern music today, is a precursor to the European lute and modern guitar. Nabil Ata, accomplished musician and ‘ud player, will lead both workshops.

In the first session, Ata will introduce students in “World Music” and “Guitar I” classes to the foundations of Arabic music – the melodic modes (maqamat) and the rhythmic cycles (iqa’) – and will perform music, and speak about his background and training. In the second session, he will work with more advanced guitar students in a master-class setting.

For more information, contact Johanna Segarich at segarichj@middlesex.mass.edu or 978-656-3142.

Middlesex Community College meets the evolving educational, civic and workforce needs of our local and global communities. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in the state, we educate more than 13,000 students annually on our campuses in Bedford and Lowell, and online. MCC offers more than 75 degree and certificate programs, plus hundreds of noncredit courses. At Middlesex, everyone teaches, everyone learns.