We have not had the opportunity to get together this year. Thank you to Majida Anwar (one of our new members) for putting this together. She is organizing a couple of music sessions throughout the summer to focus on Middle Easter Music her in Atlanta. The first get together is May 10th in Virginia Highland. Below is her announcement:

Hello everyone!

I (Majda) would like to start a bi-monthly music salon. What I want to do with this is to get musicians together to play and rehearse music mainly from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Balkans. Everyone, no matter your musical level, is encouraged to attend these salons – drummers, melody players, dancers aka zill players!

Last fall I spent 5 months in Cairo, Egypt where I began my journey into Arabic music. I really don’t want to lose what I’ve learned, so I’d like to see if anyone in the Atlanta area is interested in coming to weekly music rehearsals/ jam sessions/ learning sessions about Arabic music. I would like to be able to share what I’ve learned so I can practice and not forget it! Any instrument would be welcome, just keep in mind that quartertones are harder to play on some instruments than others.

I have some sheet music from this semester in Cairo, but I’m open to learning things by ear as well, which is how it really is done. The
sheet music is all in C as I play the violin, so any of you b flat or F or alto or bass players be prepared to transpose the music if you want to play it.

I don’t profess in any shape, form, or fashion to be an expert in Middle Eastern music, just a student who wants to grow her skills with an ensemble! I would like this to be very low key and fun and hopefully a way to grow a handful of students and musicians that
appreciate and want to perform Middle Eastern music, especially so that when the big names come in town, we can really benefit from their instruction.

I am just playing facilitator for this event. I will share my knowledge and I hope others will participate and do the same. Everyone is encouraged to bring both sheet music and songs to the salon for us to play. You do not have to read music to be here, nor do you have to have any experience in music to participate. I would like to be able to foster a community of people wanting to learn music and be able to play at haflas and events.

Here is some general information:

Date and Time:
Sundays: May 10th, May 31st, June 14th and 28th, July 12th
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Cost:
I ask everyone bring a donation of $5 cash for rehearsal space for each rehearsal.

Place:
We will meet at Awalim’s rehearsal space in the Virginia Highlands
1031 Reeder Circle Atlanta, GA (house is up the hill, rehearsal in the garage studio)

Events:
Eventually I would like to be able for this salon to be able to perform at haflas…

Communication:
If you are interested in this salon, please join the google group: http://groups.google....