Al-Bustan's Arab Music Concert Series Presents: Tunisian Vocalist Sonia M'Barek

Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture is pleased to launch a concert series presenting a resident music ensemble performing classical Arab music repertoire that features a different guest soloist for each program. This month's guest artist is Tunisian vocalist Sonia M'Barek. Ms. M'Barek, accompanied by Al-Bustan’s Resident Takht Ensemble and Keystone State Boychoir, will perform a concert of Andalusian Muwashahat.

In advance of this show, Ms. M'Barek, along with the Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble, will demonstrate Andalusian music for the public, in a free performance to take place on Sunday March 19.

Born in Sfax, Tunisia, Sonia M’barek first performed to a live audience at the age of nine and was nationally recognized on TV in Tunis when she was twelve. Attending the national conservatory of music in Tunis, she graduated with a degree in Arab music in 1986. After her degree, she spent most of her time singing in musical theater productions such as Asker Ellil, Ete 61, and Didon, as well as the sound tracks for the film The Dance of Fire. Working with Tunisian oud players, she has presented more than thirty concerts of classical Arab music in a performance tour called Tarab.

In 1999, after recording Takht, a CD which was widely distributed in Europe, the United States, and Japan, M’Barek became internationally recognized and began teaching and participating in global conferences, workshops, and master classes showcasing her keen ability with Arabic singing. In 2005, she was nominated by the Ministry of Culture in Tunisia to serve as the chair of the National Festival of Tunisian Music. She has performed in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Egypt, and Lebanon, including a tour in 2009 with Simon Shaheen at the Kennedy Center’s Arabesque Festival in Washington DC and other cities in the US.

Led by Music Director Hanna Khoury, Al-Bustan's concert series ensemble brings together musicians of exceptional experience, providing opportunities to hear exemplary live Arab music on a regular basis in Philadelphia.

This concert series is made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Arts Challenge, with support from the Sparkplug Foundation, Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Wells Fargo Foundation, individual donors, and the Trinity Center for Urban Life.