The sound of music from around the world is featured as part of a concert series to round out the summer at Peace Arch State Park in Blaine.
Concerts are scheduled at 2 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 4 at the park, which straddles the U.S.-Canadian border. The performances are free and the state's new Discover Pass and day-use fees are waived for the events. Canadian residents who enter the U.S. on foot are not required to clear Customs.
The Peace Arch International Concert Series is part of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission's Folk and Traditional Arts in the Park Program, said program manager said Jens Lund.
"It's partly to get people interested in different music and traditions," Lund said.
Featured first is the Arab and Middle Eastern music of the MB Orchestra from Edmonds, with the Arabic-influenced dances of the Shahrazad Dance Ensemble of Seattle. They perform together Sunday, Aug. 14.
The five-piece MB Orchestra, whose music combines traditional Egyptian folk tunes with current Arabic pop, is headlined by Maurice Sadak Rouman on the oud - a Middle Eastern stringed instrument that resembles the lute.
"He's one of the greatest oud players in North America," Lund said.
Sadak's son George Sadak said he expects a high-energy show with the added attraction of the Shahrazad dancers.
"It's our original band lineup," George Sadak, who plays the darbuka, a traditional Middle Eastern drum. "We play everything from ancient Egyptian to today's music. We'll give them a little bit of everything we do."
George Sadak said he learned to love music from his father in the 1970s, when the family lived in Alexandria, Egypt. Some of their music is influenced by songs that date to 4,000 B.C.
In addition to traditional instruments, the MB Orchestra includes such Western influences as keyboards and a bass.
"My dad, he played the old Coptic tunes, and taught them to us," he said. "We grew up at home listening to this kind of music, but we like pop."
The family immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s, where family members continued to perform.
George Sadak said their mix of traditional folk and modern Arabic groove never fails to get the audience on its feet.
"They always get up and dance," he said. "It's like salsa only with a twist."
Melinda Jodry of Shahrazad Dance Ensemble said to expect a colorful show, full of variety, with dances representing several different cultures.
Not all are of the members are Middle Eastern, but many have studied dance with Arab artists in order to present culturally accurate performances.
Because of MB Orchestra's roots in Egypt, that nation's dances will be the focus of Shahrazad's performance at the Peace Arch.
In addition, the troupe will perform a folkloric dance known as the khalegy, which is popular in Arab states of the Persian Gulf region.
"It's kind of a dance party for women," Jodry said. "It's a kind of dance that people don't always get to see - especially of you're not a woman.
"It's a bit of an inside view, an opportunity to see true Arab dance," she said.
For more information about the MB Orchestra, go online to themborchestra.com. For more information about the Shahrazad Dance Ensemble, see shahrazadensemble.com.
PEACE ARCH INTERNATIONAL CONCERT SERIES
When: 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14.
Where: Peach Arch State Park, Blaine.
Cost: Free; state park fee waived.
Other concerts in the series include:
- 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21: Kalevaria United Methodist Church Youth Group of Tacoma with Polynesian dances, choral songs and Samoan drumming.
- 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28: La Famille Léger, performing Acadian and Québécois house party music and dance.
- 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4: Cambodian classical and folk dance and music.
