Afghan musical performance kicks off the semester-long 2006 Syracuse Symposium on Aug. 28

Afghan musical performance kicks off the semester-long 2006 Syracuse Symposium on Aug. 28August 21, 2006Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

The Noor Wodjouatt Ensemble, renowned for its authentic Afghan music featuring Kathak dance, will come to Syracuse Aug. 28 as the first guest of the 2006 Syracuse Symposium, presented by Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium, located in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center, and is free and open to the public. Paid parking for the public is available in the Marion lot and the University Avenue Garage.

The event is co-sponsored by the Office of Orientation and Transitions Services, and is part of the 2006 Syracuse University Shared Reading Program for first-year students, which is highlighting “The Kite Runner” (Riverhead Trade, 2004) by Kabul native Khaled Hosseini. The novel is also the 2007 CNY Reads selection.

The symposium is a semester-long intellectual and artistic festival that celebrates interdisciplinary thinking, imagination and creation. This year’s theme is “Imagination.” For more information on symposium events, visit http://symposium.syr.edu.

Ensemble members include Lori Clark (Kathak dance), Broto Roy (tabla and tar) and Bassir Wodjouatt (Robub). Nina Latif will provide introductions to the ensemble’s music, musicians and dancer.

Noor Wodjouatt, a native of Kabul, Afghanistan, came to the United States in 1990 and studied classical Afghan music under his brother and cousin. He received classical Indian Raga training from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, one of India’s most renowned musicians. Wodjouatt released a CD, “City of Love,” in 1999. Wodjouatt’s style of singing is light ghazal, and he incorporates Rumi lyrics into his songs, as well as the poetry of his uncle, Ustad Ghulam Ahmad Naweed, one of Afghanistan’s well-known poets. He has led the ensemble in performing at the Dance Festival of India, the Asian Pacific American Heritage Reception in May 2004 and the Washington Folk Festival. He was the first Afghan performer at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in February 2006 and U.S. Department of State in June 2006.