On Wednesday, September 16 at 7pm at the Newton Free Library, the Boston Arabic Music Ensemble presents a live concert celebrating the beauty and diversity of music from Southwest Asia and North Africa, with a special focus on the music of Lebanon. The performance will showcase the oud, nay, violin, cello, qanun, percussion, and voice.

The Boston Arabic Music Ensemble (BAME) traces its roots to the early 1980s, when a group of friends came together to share and perform folkloric and classical works from the Arabic-speaking world. Since then, the collective has evolved into a strong ensemble of dedicated musicians. From 2010 to 2018 the group was under the artistic direction of the late maestro Bassam Saba. Since then, BAME's leaders have included the award-winning musicians Layth Sidiq, Akram Haddad, and Bengisu Gokçe.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Newton Cultural Council, a local council that is supported by the Mass Cultural Council and the City of Newton.