Zawaya

Zawaya is dedicated to preserving, promoting, and presenting Arab American cultural heritage through music and art, and is a leading Arabic performing arts organization in the Bay Area. It strives to create bridges of understanding through two main performing programs, Aswat, a forty-five-member ensemble of Arab and non-Arab musicians and singers (the largest Arabic musical ensemble in the United States), and Aswat Youth, which offers instruction in classical Arabic instruments and vocals to people ages six to eighteen. The organization reaches more than 3,000 people each year through classes, workshops, and concerts, incorporating a broad spectrum of instruments and music scales from classical, folk, and contemporary Arabic music, representing twenty-two countries.