Dartmouth-AUK Music Recital: A Universal Language

The Music Program at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) and Dartmouth College, one of the premiere Ivy League universities in the USA, presented a collaborative music recital on Sunday, November 1, at 7pm in the AUK Auditorium Liberal Arts Building, Salmiya Campus. 
 
Students, faculty, and staff from both distinguished institutions performed vocal and instrumental solo and chamber works, demonstrating the great potential for future cultural collaboration between Dartmouth and AUK. Featured compositions included works of Brahms, Mozart, Rachmaninov, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Anna Karadimitrova, Elena Tsenkova, and Dagmara Bienias and their gifted students from Kuwait-- Sara Soliman (flute), Khaled Abdel Ghaffar (guitar), and Faisal Al Bahairi--performed alongside Dartmouth musicians Mathew Forman and Laurel Stavis. 

Mathew, a Dartmouth Intern at AUK who is a singer and trombonist, said, "Not only was the recital a great performing experience, it was a privilege to participate in this unique collaboration between Dartmouth and AUK. Music is certainly the appropriate medium for such a collaboration to occur, and this event confirms the universal appeal and unifying power of music."

Laurel Stavis, Executive Director of the Dartmouth-AUK Project and a trained mezzo-soprano (a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music) added, "Dartmouth's relationship with AUK is based on the notion that education is a universal human aspiration. Music taps into our common experience at a similarly profound level. I can think of nothing more rewarding than sharing that experience with colleagues and students at AUK, and I am grateful to Professor Lisa Urkevich, the Director of the Music Program, for providing such a wonderful opportunity."
  

Dr. Dale Eickelman, Relationship Coordinator, Dartmouth-AUK Project, and Dr. Marina Tolmacheva, President of AUK
 

Group Photo: Back Row (left to right): Dr. Lisa Urkevich, Director of the Music Program and the Arabian Heritage Project; Dr. Tim Sullivan, Interim President of AUK; Dr. Dale Eickelman, Relationship Coordinator, Dartmouth-AUK Project; Dr. Nizar Hamzeh, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, AUK; Dr. Marina Tolmacheva, President of AUK; Elena Tsenkova, piano; Anna Karadimitrova, soprano; Laurel Stavis, Executive Director of Dartmouth-AUK Project and mezzo-soprano; Dagmara Bienias, flute
Front Row (left to right): Charlie Dameron, Dartmouth-AUK Intern; 
Matthew Forman, Dartmouth-AUK Intern and trombone; Faisal al-Bahairi, piano; Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, guitar; Sara Soliman, flute
 

Director of the Music Program and the Arabian Heriage Project - Dr. Lisa Urkevich