Joseph Alpar In Concert [Rescheduled]

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Joseph Alpar is an ethnomusicologist, performer, and educator specializing in Turkish, Greek, Middle Eastern, and Sephardic Jewish music. He will lead a two-day interactive workshop at Bennington that will delve into the diverse musical practices of the Middle East. Topics will include makam (the Turkish system of melodic modes), taksim and gazel (instrumental and vocal improvisation), Middle Eastern rhythm and percussion technique, Ottoman Turkish vocal performance practices, and folk dance demonstrations from Turkey, Greece, Southeast Europe, and the Middle East. Currently a doctoral candidate in ethnomusicology at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, Joseph Alpar will also speak about his dissertation research on music and religious life in the Jewish community of Istanbul, Turkey. He will be joined by his mother, composer and educator Brenda (Corman) Alpar '62, who will demonstrate percussion technique in Middle Eastern and Turkish folk dances.The two-day event will culminate with a concert of Turkish, Greek, and Sephardic music.