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What: The University of North Texas College of Music; College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences; Department of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures and Arabic program present “Rhythms of the Arab World,” a concert that culminates a larger project offering students hands-on, authentic experiences of Arab music.

When: 3:30 p.m. Dec. 2 (Sunday)

Where: Recital Hall in the College of Music Building, 415 Avenue C, in Denton.

Cost: Free

Parking: Guests can receive free event parking by contacting Ayesha Bakali at ayesha.bakali@unt.edu

Background: Sunday’s concert is part of a larger project to introduce Arabic music to UNT classrooms, particularly Arabic language and music classes. Musicians from Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture ensemble have visited Arabic language and music classrooms throughout the semester to offer workshops and introduce students to Darbouke (an Arab percussion instrument) and the Oud (the Arab lute). Al-Bustan, Arabic for “The Garden,” is an organization dedicated to presenting and teaching Arab culture through the arts and language.

Sunday’s concert will feature internationally acclaimed and award winning Arab musicians Hafez Kotain and Issam Rafea. Students from the UNT Arabic language program and ethnomusicology program will join the musicians for a percussion medley. The performance also will feature dabke (Levantine Folkloric dance), a solo performance of an Arab-Andalusian 12th-century song by doctoral musicology student, Júlia Coelho, and improvisation with doctoral enthnomusicology student, Yuxin Mei, on Pipa (Chinese lute).

The project is made possible by a Charn Uswachoke International Development Fund Grant and a grant from the Texas Muslim Women’s Foundation.