Music as Trans-Boundary Language and Historical Memory

This unique program, led by Loyola historian Dr. Benan Grams, will explore Middle Eastern history and the power of music to connect cultures, preserve historical memory, and inspire collaboration across disciplines.

This event highlights music as a universal language and a vessel for historical memory. Dr. Grams will explore music’s role in fostering cultural coexistence, exchange, and self-discovery, followed by performances that showcase unique musical traditions bridging the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. The program concludes with a student theater performance rooted in Egyptian theater traditions, emphasizing the diversity of artistic expression across cultures. Learn how music and performance reveal historical connections, preserve cultural memory, and illustrate interactions between societies across time.

Program Highlights:

• Dr. Benan Grams: "Music as Trans-Boundary Language and Historical Memory" 
• Joel Dyson: Performance of “Love is My Religion” by Hiba Al-Kawas, along with a brief overview of Joel Dyson’s opera journey 
• Neta Elkayam and Amit Hai Cohen: Performance of “In Your Eyes I See My Country” and other works, exploring the Jerusalem-Morocco musical axis and Muslim-Jewish musical traditions across the Mediterranean 
• The talk and musical performances will be followed by a student theater performance by Ava Buckley-Wilson: “The Fate of a Cockroach,” that features Egyptian theater tradition