[FA Worldmusic] political roadblock for Lebanese oud player

[Dmitri Vietze]

Hi everyone,

Lebanese oud master and composer Marcel Khalifi has a North American tour 
starting September 28... but we have a news update about a heated political 
controversy unfolding in San Diego, California where Khalifi is set to 
perform next month. The concert there is still happening, but the venue had 
to be changed due to a roadblock related to misperceptions and tensions that 
exist in today's political climate towards Arabs. Tour dates follow the news 
update below or read more here:

www.rockpaperscissors.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/current.alt_press_release/project_id/242/alt_release/265.cfm

NEWS BULLETIN

Banned and Denounced in the Middle East, Renowned Lebanese Musician Hits 
Unexpected Roadblock in U.S.A.:
Discrimination in San Diego Will Not Stop Arab Oud Master & Composer's 
Extensive North American Fall Tour

Just a few weeks ago, a venue in San Diego, CA denied on political grounds 
the use of their theater to renowned Lebanese musician Marcel Khalifi, after 
local concert organizers had already arranged the event with the Salvation 
Army, who operates the venue, The Joan B. Kroc Theatre at the Salvation Army 
Corps Community Center. The possibly discriminatory incident demonstrates 
the misperceptions and tensions that exist in today's political climate 
towards Arabs, even those who advocate for peace. Concert organizers-who had 
been in touch with the venue for several months and had followed their 
application process rigorously-were told that a concert by Khalifi-an UNESCO 
Artist for Peace- would be "divisive" and "unbalanced" because it does not 
present an Israeli artist alongside Khalifi.

Khalifi has faced persecution in the Middle East, but never something this 
inflammatory in the U.S.A. Earlier this year, a performance of his was 
denounced in the Persian Gulf island nation Bahrain. Khalifi's music was 
also recently banned from radio, television, and on stage in Tunisia. Damned 
in parts of the Middle East for supporting freedom of expression, it is 
ironic that in the U.S.A. he would find similar efforts to quiet him. In 
spite of a small contingent in San Diego, Khalifihas twenty four concerts 
from September 28 to November 18, including every major city in the U.S.A. 
and Canada, many of them in major performing arts centers. The tour will 
include a concert in San Diego at another venue.

Khalifi has often spoken out for peace and reconciliation, having risked his 
life performing in bombed-out concert halls during Lebanon's civil war. Last 
August, Khalifi wrote to fellow UNESCO Artists for Peace in response to 
Israel's bombing of Lebanon, "Nothing justifies our art other than to speak 
for those who cannot speak. This is the cause for which we dedicated our 
efforts, and the cause that endorsed our voices. We only wished to take it 
as far as we can, and vowed to release our work as songs of love for, and 
unity with, the victims of persecution everywhere."

KHALIFI'S TOUR DATES

9/28/2007 Montreal, QC The Metropolis
9/30/2007 Toronto, ON Toronto Centre for the Arts
10/2/2007 Ottawa, ON Centrepoint Theatre
10/4/2007 Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall
10/5/2007 Edmonton, AB Citadel, MacLab Theater
10/6/2007 Vancouver, BC Centennial Theatre
10/7/2007 Seattle, WA Town Hall
10/10/2007 San Francisco, CA Herbst Theatre
10/13/2007 Los Angeles, CA Wilshire Ebell Theatre
10/14/2007 San Diego, CA Birch North Park Theater
10/18/2007 Denver, CO The Oriental Theater
10/19/2007 Minneapolis, MN The Cedar Cultural Center
10/20/2007 Austin, TX Hogg Memorial Auditorium - Univ. of Texas Austin
10/26/2007 Houston, TX Stafford Centre - Performing Arts Theatre
10/28/2007 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
10/30/2007 Albuquerque, NM KiMo Theater
11/1/2007 Washington, DC John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
11/2/2007 Washington, DC John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
11/4/2007 Atlanta, GA Ferst Center for the Arts
11/9/2007 Ann Arbor, MI Michigan Theater
11/10/2007 Dearborn, MI Ford Community & Performing Arts Center
11/11/2007 Westlake, OH Westlake City Schools Performing Arts Center
11/16/2007 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Hall
11/18/2007 New York, NY NYU Skirball Center

MORE LINKS

full press release about the tour and Khalifi's new work and recording, 
Taqasim.
www.rockpaperscissors.biz/go/khalife

MP3 audio streams
www.rockpaperscissors.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/current.mp3Grouped/project_id/242.cfm

Much respect,

Dmitri Vietze
rock paper scissors, inc.
511 W. 4th St., Suite 2
Bloomington, IN 47404-5171
TEL +1-812-339-1195
FAX +1-801-729-4911
music at rockpaperscissors.biz
www.rockpaperscissors.biz

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