“Conflict, Music, and Memory: Syria’s Experience,” The Chase Lecture, Bard Globalization and International Affairs, New York, New York, November 2019.

Music offers a vital means of keeping alive a sense of place that preserves memories and traditions, even when played thousand miles of away. 

To discuss this role of music in the context of the conflict in Syria, we are delighted to welcome Mohamed Alsiadi, a master of the oud who has performed around the world. He grew up in Aleppo, once a vibrant city bursting with diversity, where the arts could flourish and he could study music, his life’s passion. As the city became caught up in the Syrian conflict, he understood the need to collect and record its music, making it available around the world via YouTube. He is the founder of The Aleppo Ensemble, which is dedicated to performing music from the city and wider region, and he is presently completing work on a new album titled “Music of Aleppo.”

Mohamed Alsiadi will be in conversation with Whitney Slaten, assistant professor of music at Bard and an expert in ethnomusicology. Part oud performance, part conversation, they will discuss the challenges and joys of keeping alive music that takes on a special dimension when heard so far from home.