Arab World and its Diaspora

Includes Four Events in Ann Arbor and Detroit.

Southeast Michigan is home to a historic, celebrated, and diverse Arab community. This season, an expert advisory group composed of artists, scholars, and community leaders from our region has helped UMS co-curate a portfolio of performances by artists and ensembles from the Arab World and its Diaspora. Across these performances, we’ve tried to reflect a balance of geography, identity, genre, tradition, and experimentalism. We hope to create space for celebration and joy — and to offer just a glimpse of the breadth of performance by those who self-identify as Arab, Arab American, or as Arabs in America.

Please note: Due to COVID-19 impacted changes to the Fall 2020/21 season, this season ticket package is no longer available for sale. You may instead customize your own Series:You package of 3 or more events across the season — with a 10% savings and the ultimate flexibility for the months ahead.

Layl (Night): A Performance by Ali Chahrour

Saturday, November 21, 2020  // 8:00 PM
Power Center

Lebanese choreographer and theater maker Ali Chahrour draws inspiration from Arabic stories, legends, and poems relating to love. Performed in Arabic with English supertitles.

Farida and the Iraqi Maqam Ensemble

Sunday, November 22, 2020 // 4:00 PM
Rackham Auditorium

Farida Mohammad Ali has established a reputation throughout the Arab world for brilliant performances of the classical maqam, a form of Arab art music traditionally sung by men.

National Arab Orchestra

Saturday, March 20, 2021  // 8:00 PM
Hill Auditorium

The National Arab Orchestra and Lebanese singer Abeer Nehme perform traditional classical canon of Arab music as well as newly arranged original works by contemporary Arab composers.

Sahra: An Evening of Performance

Saturday, April 10, 2021  // 8:00 PM
Spot Lite (2905 Beaufait St., Detroit)

UMS’s 2020/21 Season Arab focus closes with an event in Detroit that brings together three wildly different performances representing the vast diversity of the Arab world.