Arab Classical and Contemporary Music with Hanna Khoury and Hafez Kotain

Come for an evening of Arab Classical and Contemporary Music with Hanna Khoury and Hafez Kotain of the Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble.  Al-Bustan (Arabic for The Garden) promotes cross-cultural understanding of all ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds through artistic and educational programs.  They support the pursuit and affirmation of Arab American cultural identity while playing a constructive civic role in broader American society.
Featuring: Hanna Khoury
Hanna is a violinist trained in the classical traditions of Arab and Western music. In 2010 he received the prestigious Pew Fellowship in the Arts for his exemplary talent in Arab music. Hanna obtained his Master’s Degree in Music from Temple University. A recipient of the America-Israel Scholarship and Qattan Foundation Award, he graduated magna cum laude with departmental honors from UCLA with a Bachelors in Economics and Music Performance. Hanna began teaching music with Al-Bustan in spring 2009. He leads the development of Al-Bustan’s music program in schools and the Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble and Arab Music Concert Series.  Khoury is currently a PhD candidate at theUniversity of Pennsylvania in the Department of Music.

Featuring: Hafez Kotain
Hafez is a master percussionist fluent in both Arab and Latin rhythms. Born in Venezuela of Syrian heritage, he grew up in Syria until the age of 16. He began playing the doumbek at the age of seven years, made his first stage performance at nine years, and went on to study with master Syrian percussionist Hady Jazan, winning the national percussion competitions in Syria for five consecutive years. In Venezuela he studied percussion at the TMV Institute for Music in Valencia, where he also taught a variety of percussion styles blending Arab and Latino music to youth. He works with Al-Bustan throughout the year, teaching music at summer camp, weekly percussion classes at several Philadelphia schools, and a weekly percussion ensemble class at University of Pennsylvania. Hafez is a recipient of the prestigious 2013 Pew Fellowship in the Arts, which is awarded each year to 12 Philadelphia artists who are of exemplary talent.

We’d love it if you joined us in April, May and June for the Free Library’s New Americans Spring Concert Series. As a nation of settlers, we can be a positive stride against current political trends seeking to isolate new folks arriving in our city.