Notes from 2006 SAMR meeting
The Society for Arab Music Research held its annual business meeting on Thursday, November 16, 2006 at the annual national meeting of SEM, Hawaii. The meeting began at 8:15 pm with self-introductions by those in attendance: Jeff Callen, Miriam Gerberg, Lillie Gordon, Ken Habib, Ben Harbert, Kathleen Hood, Laura Lohman, Scott Marcus, Irene Markoff, Niiloofar Mina, Guillard Moufarrej, Kristina Nelson, Barbara Racy, Jihad Racy, Carolyn Ramzy, Anne Rasmussen, Philip Schyuler, Sonia Seeman, Tanya Semer, Salwa El Shawan Castelo-Branco, Naser al-Taee, Anne Elise Thomas, and Laith Ulaby. Niiloofar Mina attended, in part, as official representative from the Special Interest Group for the Music of Iran and Central Asia. Michael Frishkopf sent in his apologies, saying that he was attending the concurrent Middle East Studies Association conference.
In a discussion of new publications, Kristina Nelson passed around a copy of Dr. Mohamed Omran’s new book, Music of Egypt’s Gypsies (in Arabic) and new CDs released by the Egyptian Center for Culture & Arts [egyptmusic.org], popularly known as Makan, the name of the Center’s performance space in Cairo. Included was a CD featuring the group, Mazaher, which performs traditional music of the zar ritual. The group performs regularly, usually every Wednesday, at Makan in Cairo. Kristina also passed around CDs released by Incognito, a new music production company based in Lebanon.
Scott Marcus also announced that his book, Music in Egypt (Oxford University Press) is now available.
In her comments on the Egyptian Center for Culture & Arts, Kristina noted that the Center was created in 2003 by Ahmad El Maghraby with Ford Foundation funding. The Center seeks interns who would, possibly, help with cataloguing in exchange for going along on the Center’s fieldwork trips.
In response to an agenda item seeking the member’s reactions to the wiki Arab music site---Michael Frishkopf had asked, “I'd like to know why people aren't using it; how can I help.”---a general discussion followed. Many expressed the opinion that, “We’re too busy.” One suggestion was that the current site might be “too open ended. We need categories, for example, pages of instrument names.” Others stated that they feel compelled to prioritize publications. “Why would you put information there rather than in a journal.”
Members requested information from SAMR chair, Michael Frishkopf, on SAMR’s collaborative CD review project.
It was noted that there was a SAMR-sponsored panel at the present meeting. Chaired by Kathleen Hood, the panel, “Music in the Arab Diaspora: Remembrance and Negotiation of Cultural Identity,” featured papers by Kathleen Hood (“Lebanese Zajal Singers as Cultural Ambassadors: The Business of Nostalgia”), Guilnard Moufarrej, (“Music Making, Identity, and Preservation of Cultural and Religious Heritage Among a Lebanese Diasporic Community in the United States”), and Ken Habib (“Musical Remembrance and Regeneration in the Arab Diaspora of the United States of America”). Members were encouraged to continue to organize “SAMR sponsored” panels.
In the first of two "previously unheard" presentations, Ben Harbert (UCLA) spoke about his research on “Re-Emergent Egyptian Heavy Metal.” Ben began his study in 1997 while learning `ud in Egypt. At that time, a widely reported incident occurred in which 80-100 heavy metal musicians and fans were labeled Satan-worshippers, jailed and tortured for two or more weeks. Continuing his research this last summer, Ben reported that a vital Heavy Metal scene has returned to Egypt. The internet has enabled a new generation of musicians and fans to trade music internationally, organize concerts, and maintain an active forum in which members review concerts and debate relevant issues. Like before, young, educated Egyptians produce elaborate concerts in the desert (powering amplifiers, PAs, lights and pyrotechnics with generators). While the scene is not back to the size it was a decade ago, 100s of fans attend these concerts. Jeff Callen, Guillard Moufarrej, and Laith Ulaby noted similar arrests of Heavy Metal musicians in Morocco, Lebanon, and Bahrain, respectively.
In the second "previously unheard" presentation, Kristina Nelson spoke on a new initiative: "Developing the Field of Ethnomusicology in the Arab World," explained the idea (see description below) and asked for support.
Kristina first presented the initiative in an email to the SAMR list on Oct. 27, 2006 email:
“The project is to develop the field of ethnomusicology in the Arab World with as wide participation as possible.
The field has grown extensively since the late 1950's and scholars trained in Asia, Latin America, Europe and the North American continent all contribute significantly to the development of this field. The sensitive and sympathetic voices that seek to counter politically generated perceptions of Arab culture as, at best, exotic and, at worst, generated by a monolithic and intolerant Islam, are overwhelmingly non-Arab: Arab cultural scholars in the region can be numbered on the fingers of one hand and they are either self-trained or have trained abroad. The disciplines of folklore and sociology are well-established in some Arab academic institutions, anthropology, less so, but the graduates of these departments disappear into government offices or tourist companies. The study of music remains performance and history-based. The reasons for this will constitute part of my presentation and I and my colleagues in Egypt hope to interest other scholars in exploring possible solutions.
The presence of the field functions as an ethical watchdog for the rise of World Music production and consumption practices. It encourages appreciation for local musical cultures, musicians' rights and can influence local music production policies for the benefit of practitioners. The growing interest in Applied Musicology looks outside academia to explore employment opportunities in culture and development, museums and archives, education, performing arts institutions, music production and tourism, among others. The establishment of the field in the Arab World could, therefore, not only stimulate creative and critical thinking, break down barriers, but generate employment.
I hope to generate discussion that will be helpful in planning subsequent steps (i.e, putting together a broadly-based steering committee, charting prospective resources and enlisting partners) for what promises to be a groundbreaking and exciting project. In the coming year, we hope to convene a meeting of interested scholars and partners in Cairo to explore the issues, opportunities and challenges together and begin to plan a program (lecture series, school curricula, visiting professors program, interns, advisors, etc.). This would not be a bilateral US-Arab World initiative, but one more broadly-based. I would like to bring in the support of the British and French ethno societies, as well as advisors from countries that have a relatively new history in the field, such as those from some African and Asian countries.
I have funding from the Ford Foundation to make a presentation at the Honolulu meeting. This is the first step. I will be putting up a flyer publicizing the time and place of the presentation (probably Saturday afternoon, evening). This is OUR project. Please come! If you will not be at the meeting, please think about this and send in your ideas to the SAMR list so we can all see.”
In a Jan. 6, 2007 email, Kristina wrote:
“The main points raised in the SAMR discussion and subsequent meetings and brainstormings can be summarized as follows:
-First steps:
1-to spread the word as widely as possible (work of mouth, newsletters, websites) so as to obtain the broadest individual and institutional participation possible. In this connection, I spoke with Stephen Wild, President of the International Council of Traditional Music (ICTM) and he will send me the procedures required to establish a study group on the subject. This will give us a broader international base and more Arab participation. I will be the point person for setting up an initial network of contacts. The aim is to identify individuals and institutions who would be interested in participating in any capacity.
In this regard, we also discussed funding possibilities and two SAMR members with contacts agreed to approach the Middle East Institute (USA) and Sheikh Zeid University (Abu Dhabi).
2-to list and prioritize the texts (books, articles and films) that could then be translated or subtitled for an introductory course in ethnomusicology.
3-to collect examples of syllabi of world music from music curricula of primary through university programs.
4-to collect examples of music curricula in the Arab World. We already have examples from Jordan and Egypt as these are published on the UNESCO website.
-Next steps:
From the network we (the "we" remains unknown at this time) will select a committee to plan a meeting in Cairo to develop further strategies for the short, medium and long-term. For example, it was suggested that we look at case studies from Iran, Turkey and Uganda that would describe and analyze the development of the field in those countries. Another point of discussion would be to explore and identify potential employment opportunities in the region for trained ethnomusicologists.
A guiding principle will be that we build on what is already there, rather than create new institutions at this point. We will contact the Music Education Faculty, University of Helwan (in Zamalek) as the Dean, Dr. Fatima Al Mumtaz, seems sympathetic and some students have done work along the lines of the field. If we are successful in obtaining institutional interest early on, we can make the institution the "point person" for questions and networking. A second principle will be to start in one country, rather than trying to set up several programs simultaneously across the region. If successful, the first experiment could attract students from other parts of the region and we would fundraise for scholarships to provide living allowances. At the same time, we would encourage parallel initiatives throughout the region, such as awareness-raising activities, media programs, lecture series, internships, residencies, exchanges and performance programs: for example the Arab Music Retreat (Jihad Racy and Simon Shaheen) which currently takes place every summer in the US and has a scholarship program to bring students from the Arab World, especially Palestine, could be developed to bring students from the US to the Arab World for a similar program. The students could extend their stay to contribute their services as interns, fieldworkers, etc. A.J. Racy pointed out that honoring Arab musicians in the USA is an effective strategy for enhancing the status (and therefore credibility and legitimacy) of the musicians back home. A fourth principle is to work in reference to employment opportunities for ethnomusicologists in the region.”
Next, Miriam Gerberg led a brief discussion on Arab music education in the U.S. The Arab American Museum and the work of ACCESS, both in Dearborn, Michigan were sited.
In “New Business” Sonia Seeman suggested that SAMR expand its focus beyond the Arab world, stating that “we’re missing out on vital potential conversations,” and expressed concern that the Western perspective of the Middle East regularly favors the Arab world. Sonia stated that “it feels we are being exclusionary.” The late hour limited discussion on this matter, but Scott Marcus, chairing the SAMR meeting, expressed support for the positive aspects of SAMR’s SEM meeting sessions.
The final agenda item, a jam session, failed to materialize as only one member brought a musical instrument with her.
Respectfully submitted,
Scott Marcus, Acting Chair (in Michael Frishkopf’s absence)
