
Courtney McIntyre, a Trinity sophomore enrolled in her first year of Arabic, is still a little shy about starting a conversation in her new language. Yet, with the encouragement of her instructor Azeddine Chergui, she wasn't shy about singing in Arabic this week to welcome a prominent Arab music ensemble to campus.
"We put this together because Simon [Shaheen] was coming," says McIntyre. "We're really excited to be able to be a part of it and sing for them," she said.
Shaheen, an oud and violin virtuoso, and his 15-member orchestra assembled at Duke on Monday from all parts of the globe New York, L.A., Boston, Tunis to begin rehearsal on a new work incorporating Egyptian cinematic music and rare film footage from the 1920s-1950s. "ASWAT (Voices): Celebrating the Golden Age of Arab Music" made its world premiere at Duke last night (Thursday) before heading to Washington, D.C., for a sold-out show at the Kennedy Center's "Arabesque" Festival.
At a Tuesday reception in the Mary Lou Williams Center, students, faculty and community members mingled with the artists over a buffet of hummus, felafel and Mediterranean foods. That's when McIntyre and her classmates serenaded the guests with a few Arabic songs, accompanied by instructor Chergui on oud.
Percussionist Zafer Tawil and other members of Shaheen's orchestra joined in.
"It was cool. They did good I think, very good," said Tawil, looking almost like a student himself wearing a slouchy knit hat. The 32-year-old also plays with Shaheen's jazz fusion group Qantara, which mixes Arabic, Latin and flamenco.
"I was surprised, especially to see them singing in Arabic," Shaheen said. "Their diction is amazing."
Although music is optional for Chergui's students, he said he finds it makes a useful learning tool. His students may even choose to form a band and "sing" their final oral exams.
"Phonetically, the Arabic alphabet includes some sounds that are very challenging to non-Arab learners," Chergui said. "Music allows them to articulate those sounds with much more ease."
"One thing I really like about the Arabic program here is that it encompasses more than just the language," McIntyre said. "They definitely teach you about the culture as well.
"Arabic music brings a whole other component that Western culture doesn't have," she added. "Microtones, fourth tones, semitones. It's really awesome to hear what you're reading about in textbooks, and be able to actually engage in it hands on."
Duke Performances sponsored the appearance by Simon Shaheen and the ASWAT Orchestra.
Pictured below, members of the Duke community enjoy Arab music and food at a reception for Simon Shaheen (pictured middle with plate).
