The Middle Eastern Music Ensemble of the College of William and Mary will present a concert at Washington and Lee University on Friday, March 6, at 7:30 pm.
Admission is free and the doors to Wilson Concert Hall will open at 7 p.m. for seating. For more information, call the Lenfest Center box office at (540) 458-8000.
Since its formation in 1994, the Middle Eastern Music Ensemble has involved students, faculty members and area residents in the performance of repertoire from Arab, Turkish, Armenian and Greek music cultures.
The ensemble’s instrumentation typically includes Middle Eastern instruments like the ‘ud (a fretless lute), nay (a reed flute), and daff (a frame drum) along with instruments that are more familiar to western audiences such as the violin, viola and clarinet. Dr. Anne Rasmussen, professor of Music/Ethnomusicology and the Bickers Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at William and Mary, serves as the ensemble’s director.
Following the concert, audience members will have the opportunity to come onstage for a closer view of the instruments.
The concert is supported by the Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian Studies Program as well as the Departments of History, Art and Art History, Music, Philosophy, and Theater, Dance and Film Studies.
