The Canadian Arabic Orchestra Presents Second Annual Festival Of Arabic Music & Arts

Following its overwhelmingly successful debut in 2017, the Festival of Arabic Music & Arts (FAMA) returns this fall with thirteen events in eleven venues across the GTA!

The first of its kind in Ontario, the Festival of Arabic Music & Arts is a celebration of Arabic culture that aims to connect audiences through music and art and build bridges between Canada's diverse communities. FAMA's second annual line-up features a wide range of music, dance, theatre, and film from Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Egypt performed by the Canadian Arabic Orchestra and an array of renowned local and International Artists.

FAMA 2018 opens on October 26 with a performance by the celebrated Lebanese composer and singer Marwan Khoury at the Mississauga Living Arts Centre. The festival wraps up on November 11 at the Bluma Appel Theatre with Julia Domna, the spectacular dance/theatre production from Syria that wowed Luminato audiences in 2010. For tickets or more information, visit: canadianarabicorchestra.ca/fama/.

The CAO is a not-for-profit organization registered in Mississauga with the prime objective of promoting multi-cultural dialogue and understanding through the universal language of music. The mission of the Canadian Arabic Orchestra is "To Connect, Enrich, and Inspire Through Music;" to connect people from diverse cultures, and reconnect people from Arab origins with their roots. The organization also aims to enrich by educating people about the vast Arabic cultural and musical heritage, and to inspire more musical creativity resulting from exposure to this type of music by both Arab and non-Arab musicians who wish to contribute to the music scene in Canada by composing and writing new music. Over the past two seasons, the Orchestra has held more than 30 concerts in Ottawa, Montreal, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, Toronto, and Oakville performing to an audience of 12,000. The CAO has performed at the Mississauga Living Arts Centre, the Aga Khan Museum, the Maureen Forrester Recital Hall in Waterloo, the Algonquin Commons Theatre in Ottawa, and most recently at the Stratford Summer Music Festival (2016) and Luminato Festival (2017).