＋ Friday, August 15

All sessions will be held between 10:30am-12:00pm. Participants must select one elective class to attend.

A Song in Defiance | Arson Fahim

SB309

August 15th marks four years since the Taliban took over my homeland of Afghanistan and banned all forms of music. Since then, they have shut down the country’s only music school, destroyed instruments, and persecuted musicians. Join us in this jam to learn and play the Attan, Afghanistan’s national dance, as an act of defiance — a way to keep Afghan music alive and in the hearts of musicians around the world, even when it is banned inside the country. Should we choose to, we will also have the option of performing it at the evening concert.

Arranging for Three-Part Vocal Harmony | Timothy Kiah

SB319

Learn how to quickly craft three-part vocal arrangements across a variety of styles and genres. We’ll explore techniques for balancing voices, shaping harmonies, and adapting arrangements to different musical contexts—so you can turn an idea into a performance-ready piece on the spot.

Contemporary Sounds of Sierra Leone| Kate Krontiris

SB318

Step into the vibrant sound world of today’s Sierra Leone. Through listening, discussion, and live music-making, we’ll explore the rhythms, chord progressions, instrumentation, and lyrical approaches shaping the country’s contemporary scene. You’ll get hands-on experience blending your own instrument or genre with modern Sierra Leonean styles, and even try your hand at live music production with artists from Sierra Leone.

Uyghur Dutar Technique and Style | Sohret Nur

SB317

Discover the artistry of two legendary Uyghur dutar masters—Musajan Rozi and Abdurehim Heyit. We’ll examine the history and structure of the dutar, explore essential and contemporary playing techniques, and compare the unique approaches of these masters. Along the way, we’ll discuss how these techniques appear in transcriptions, and the class will culminate with a solo performance inspired by our exploration.

The Classical Music of Iran | Bahar Badiei

SB315

This one-hour session offers an engaging introduction to the history and traditions of Iranian classical music, drawing on its many regional and cultural influences. Through live demonstrations on oud and voice, we’ll explore the modal system, poetic rhythmic patterns, microtonal structures, and approaches to improvisation. Participants will learn a short classical piece and practice applying motifs in improvisation—leaving with both a deeper understanding of the tradition and new creative tools for performance.

Bending the Pulse: Eastern Mediterranean Rhythms for Composers and Improvisers | Stefanos Athinaios

SB316

Explore the rich rhythmic traditions of the Mediterranean and Middle East as powerful tools for improvisation and composition. Using voice, body, and instrument, we’ll break down odd meters, build motifs, shape phrases, and experiment with applying these rhythms in fresh, creative contexts.

Exploring Hicaz Maqam: Ornamentation, Rhythm, and Improvisation in Ottoman/Turkish Music | Eray Cinpir

SB 311

Dive into the maqam system through one of its most iconic modes—Hicaz. We’ll begin with an overview of Rast, Uşşak, and Hicaz, then take a closer look at how Hicaz is structured, ornamented, and performed. Using a song by Alaeddin Yavaşça as our guide, we’ll explore phrasing, expressive details, and the Düyek rhythmic cycle before performing it together in the traditional meşk style. The session will close with a collaborative improvisation, inviting all instruments and voices to join. Open to all musicians—no prior experience with Turkish music required.

＋ Saturday, August 16

All sessions will be held between 10:30am-12:00pm. Participants must select one elective class to attend.

Azerbaijiani Songs | Leyla Gahramanova

SB315

An introduction to the rich and varied songs of Azerbaijan. We’ll explore their melodies, lyrics, and cultural contexts, with opportunities to sing and engage with this beautiful tradition.

Finding Your Voice In A New Musical Tradition | Joshua Caraco

SB316

What happens when you play an instrument from one tradition in the musical language of another? Drawing from my recent experience performing Son Jarocho and other Afro-Latin diaspora music on the West African kora, I’ll share practical tips for adapting technique, ornamentation, and phrasing across traditions. We’ll discuss creative approaches to bridging cultures, hear musical examples, and invite an open exchange of ideas from participants’ own cross-traditional experiences.

The Modal Toolbox: Practical Makam for Creative Musicians | Tev Stevig

SB317

Spanning from Morocco to Western China, modal music traditions share deep connections. This session introduces makam as a practical framework for understanding and engaging with this vast musical world. We’ll use the Turkish makam system as our starting point, learning how to hear microtonal inflections, identify key phrases, shape melodic intensity, and explore modulation. Together, we’ll sing, play, and study a short Ottoman piece—leaving with tools to approach modal repertoire, improvisation, and composition with fresh insight.

Persian Rhythms and Rituals: A Cultural Exploration of Daf and Tombak| Amir Etemadzadeh

SB318

Experience the heartbeat of Persian music through two iconic drums: the daf and tombak. In this hands-on session, we’ll learn simple, compound, and asymmetrical rhythms, exploring their role in traditional, spiritual, and folk contexts. Through call-and-response, group exercises, and guided practice, you’ll strengthen your timing, phrasing, and ensemble sensitivity—leaving with a rhythmic toolkit you can use in improvisation, composition, and cross-cultural collaboration.

Middle Eastern Maqam Music and Song | Laith Alattar

SB319

Dive into the melodic language of the Middle East by exploring the main maqams of Arabic, Turkish, Persian, and North African traditions. We’ll examine how these maqams connect through shared building blocks—tetrachords, trichords, and pentachords—and learn how they combine to create different modal colors. Participants will also learn and perform a few simple folk melodies to bring these concepts to life.

Exploring the Spiritual Connection: Late Coltrane and the Guqin | Zishi Liu

SB311

This session explores the deep resonance between John Coltrane’s late works and the ancient Chinese guqin. Through listening, discussion, and guided exercises, we’ll uncover shared themes of emptiness, spiritual seeking, and free expression. Participants will be invited to reflect on how silence, repetition, and open improvisation can shape their own music-making—drawing inspiration from Coltrane’s legacy and the guqin’s meditative voice.