A Book Talk by Lisa Urkevich in Celebration of Kuwait National Day

In celebration of Kuwait National and Liberation Days, Dr. Lisa Urkevich, Professor of Musicology/Ethnomusicology and Chair of the Department of Music and Drama at AUK, will hold a talk on Tuesday, 23 February, to discuss her book, Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. The volume, which includes 200 images and a CD with 31 musical examples, is the result of almost two decades of pioneering fieldwork that spanned thousands of kilometers across the Arabian Peninsula.

In her talk, which comes as part of the AUK Faculty Speaker Series, Urkevich will present key book concepts and share her field research experiences in dealing with the many variegated Peninsula areas, subcultures, and rich and dynamic performing arts, many of which have been unknown beyond local communities until now.

Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula has been lauded by critics from around the world. Niel van der Linden, writing for The National (Abu Dhabi News) praises, "Not only is it the most comprehensive book in English on the music of this part of the world, [Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula] is also one of the most comprehensive books on music anywhere in the Middle East and North Africa."

World music reviewer Richard Dorsett (USA) concurs, "This fine volume opens more doors to understanding the region than you might expect...[it] is among a handful of the best books on traditional music" (Roots World).

But the work is not just of interest to musical enthusiasts. As noted by Dr. El-Sayed El-Aswad, Chair of Sociology at UAE University, "It is a welcome contribution to the scholarship of the Middle East, in general, and the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf societies, in particular" (Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online).

Urkevich's talk will take place in the Auditorium of the AUK Campus at 6 pm on Tuesday 23 February. Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula is available for purchase at the AUK Bookstore, Jarir, and Amazon.com.

About Lisa Urkevich:

Lisa Urkevich PhD is Professor of Musicology/Ethnomusicology and Chair of the Department of Music and Drama at AUK, where she teaches courses on the music and rituals of the Arabian Peninsula. Throughout 2015-16 she has been appointed a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, where she is investigating the earliest recordings of Arabia (1906). She is the author of numerous writings on Peninsula culture and the producer of the CD and booklet, "Kuwait: Sea Songs of the Arabian Gulf" (Multicultural Media 2014). Urkevich was recently honored with the 2015 University of Maryland Alumna of the Year Award. www.urkevich.com.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 18th February 2016