Alumni band celebrates Middle Eastern culture

By Karrie Wolfe, IDS

There is no doubt that Bloomington brings a mixture of ethnicity to the region.  One way this is proven is by the musical group Salaam, a team of IU graduates seeking to teach others about the Middle East and North Africa.

Salaam, Arabic for “peace,” will be celebrating its newest CD, Raks at Salaam (translated as “Dances of Peace”), at a CD release party from 8 – 10 p.m. Friday at Borders Books & Music, 2634 E. Third St.  This is the group’s second CD.  Its first, Salaam, was a mixture of Middle Eastern fusion.  With the second CD, the group wanted to focus strictly on older and more traditional sounds of the Middle East.

“With the second CD, we’re trying to get the old and classical music and as much sound as we can from different countries,” viola player and IU graduate Dena El Safar said.

A big part of Salaam’s mission is to raise cultural awareness, percussionist and IU graduate Tim Moore said.

“With the Middle East, it seems like you don’t hear a lot beyond the politics,” Moore said.  “There is a lot of culture and deep roots in this music.  We’re not able to get to it very easily.”

Salaam is also interested in showing school children how the Middle East can be a positive place.  The trio of El Safar, Moore and bassist Ron Kadish was accepted into Young Audiences of Indiana last year, an organization of groups that travel to schools to present different cultures to students.

“We play a song from each country and then talk about that region,” El Safar said.  “We include maps of all the regions of the Middle East and we take them on a virtual tour of 67 countries.”

An upcoming CD release party, separate from the one at Borders, will be at 7 p.m. March 11 in the John Waldron Arts Center auditorium, 122 S. Walnut St.  The group will not only have the chance to show everyone at the gala what the CD has to offer but will also be able to provide an atmosphere that Moore calls “a feast for the senses.”

“The gala will give people a chance to experience what the Middle East is all about, not just what they see on the news,” Moore said.

The event will have musicians, belly dancers and Middle Eastern food and vendors.

“This Middle Eastern gala is a chance to come in and experience all the things that make it so special,” Kadish said.

The group, formed in 1993, has had the chance to play at exhibitions, festivals and museums all over the region.  One favorite place of the group is at weddings.

“We play weddings for Turkish and Arabic people,” El Safar said, “and when we start playing for someone and it’s the music of their homeland, they can get very emotional.”