This March and April, the New York audience will have the rare pleasure of seeing in performance two giants in the Middle Eastern and specifically Arab musical worlds: Sonia M’Barek, in a concert at Proshansky Auditorium at the CUNY Graduate Center on Friday, 23 March, and Marcel Khalife on Sunday, 29 April at The Town Hall.

Both concerts are presented by Alwan for the Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and presenting Middle Eastern art and culture in New York City. Alwan for the Arts, founded in NYC in 1998, is known for its robust musical programming centered around Middle Eastern music in its diverse forms: folk, traditional, contemporary, experimental, as well as music featuring other cultural and regional influences. Other equally developed branches of its programming include literary readings and book signings, film screenings, dance performances, visual arts presentations, and various other events that fall under Alwan’s multi-hued umbrella.

The Sonia M’Barek concert is co-presented by Philadelphia-based Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture*, as well as the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center of the CUNY Graduate Center. The concert will feature the renowned Tunisian vocalist in a rare evening of Tunis-tinted performance. M’Barek will be presenting a program that includes Andalusian Muwashah, the traditional form Tunisian maluf, as well as modern and contemporary pieces composed by prominent Tunisian artists. This evening of Arab art music will present on stage the Al-Bustan resident music ensemble, led by Palestinian violinist Hanna Khoury, and will be joined by the Keystone State Boychoir. Philadelphia residents will also have the chance to enjoy a presentation of the same repertoire in Al-Bustan’s home, on Sunday, 25 March.

Alwan’s second marquee concert will feature the inestimable Lebanese oudist and composer Marcel Khalife, in a concert showcasing new compositions based on the poetry and spirit of the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, and in salute to the Arab Spring. On 29 April, join Alwan for the Arts at The Town Hall as they present the New York portion of Marcel Khalife’s nationwide tour, in homage to the life and accomplishments of the departed poet, and the continued struggle in the Arab world for self-determination.