2019 World Arabic Language Day at SQCC

Guests gathered at SQCC on Tuesday, 10 December for an early celebration of World Arabic Language Day. This year’s theme was “The Arabic Language Through Music” which featured a public lecture with live demonstrations, musical performances, and a reception.  Dr. Rasmussen, Professor of Music and Ethnomusicology at William & Mary, led a discussion about the traditional music and instruments throughout the Arab world and the Arabic language used to describe music.  Accompanying Dr. Rasmussen’s presentation of her field research across three continents were two other musicians, Mr. Laith Alattar (‘ud) and Ms. Sanam Analoui (percussion). Together, the trio ensemble shared stories and provided lively demonstrations of Arabic music and presentations of their respective instruments. Afterwards, a reception was held upstairs featuring Middle Eastern fare, more musical performances, singing. 2019 World Arabic Language Day at SQCC was an informative and fun event to conclude the year.