University of Massachusetts Amherst
Fine Arts Center
Home > AACP > Calendar > The Myth of Gilgamesh and Middle Eastern Music
Performance Series
Asian Arts & Culture
 
AACP Home
Arts in India Tour
Asian Dialogues
Programs for Schools
Calendar of Events
Join Our Mailing List
Ticket Information
Related Links
Press Room

The Myth of Gilgamesh and Middle Eastern Music
with Simon Shaheen & Qantara


Friday, November 14
Bowker Auditorium   8:00 pm
$20, $15; Five College students & Youth 17 and under, $15
Inscribed on stone tablets in Babylonia more than three thousand years ago, the Epic of Gilgamesh tells of King Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality after losing his dearest friend, Enkidu. This unforgettable story, set in Mesopotamia (today’s Iraq), is presented in a mesmerizing mix of music and storytelling. As the storyteller, Margaret Olivia Wolfson spins her version of the epic, bringing its characters and themes of friendship and courage, love and loss to new and exciting life, as renowned Palestinian-American musician Simon Shaheen and the musicians of his Qantara Ensemble, perform dazzling rhythms and haunting melodies on Oud (Arabian lute), violin, Ney (Arabian flute), and world percussion. Together, the storytelling and music create a thrilling experience guaranteed to inspire and intrigue.

Additional support is provided by the Five College Lecture Fund and the music departments of Amherst, Hampshire and Smith Colleges.

 
UMass Seal© 2008 University of Massachusetts Amherst, Site Policies
Site maintained by The Fine Arts Center