On Saturday the FedEx Global Education Center will host a conference called “Iraq Beyond Conflict,” which was organized by a UNC class on the country’s history.
As a prequel to the conference, a native Iraqi musician – Saadoun al-Bayati – will play at the tonight.
The concert, which will also feature Yassine Kirkeche and Vince Delgado, will serve as the introduction to the conference.
Bayati was born and raised in Iraq but came to the United States to study engineering.
But when he arrived in Chicago, his plans changed. His acting talent was noticed, and he began to study theater at the Art Institute in Chicago. While in the city he began to perform his music at local nightclubs.
Bayati sang and played percussion during his childhood in Iraq. He said that even while studying other things, music remained on his mind.
“Music has been with me all my life, wherever I was, whatever I was doing,” he said.
As he began to play more and more, Bayati took up the oud to accompany his singing. The oud is a guitar like instrument that is very similar to the lute. It is often used as an accompaniment in Middle Eastern music.
“The oud has and will always be a secondary for my voice,” Bayati said.
Bayati said he found that he loved playing and performing more and more as he grew as a musician.
“I get into a trance when I’m playing music and just go into it,” he said. “It’s a great feeling when I see people happy and enjoying my music.”
While playing in Ann Arbor, Bayati met his future wife. The two eventually moved to Hollywood so Bayati could be near the acting scene and have plenty of local venues to play music.
Friday’s concert is part of a larger effort to widen the lens through which the public views Iraq.
A student in the class, Linden Wait, said the conference is an education, especially for middle and high school teachers, that expands on what the media might provide.
“The point of the class is to learn Iraqi history beyond what is usually taught. The point of the conference is to give a glimpse into the cultural and artistic aspects of Iraq,” Wait said.
Another student in the class, Brenna Yellin, also emphasized the conference’s goals of opening new channels and generating new perceptions.
“Just because people in Iraq have been touched by war does not mean their whole lives revolve around conflict,” she said.
“Sometimes, I think we let ourselves define all Iraqis by war instead of looking at each person individually.”
Yellin also said the goals of conference served as the core for the class’s study of Iraq.
She said planning the conference also provided a challenging but rewarding application for the students to pursue.
“I never realized how many stages there were in planning an event like this,” she said.
“The conference was truly a collaborative process.”
See the concert tonight at 7 p.m. in the FedEx Global Education Center.
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