Under the high patronage of H.E. the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Judge Abbas Halabi, the Faculty of Music and Musicology (FMM) at Antonine University (UA), in collaboration with the Arab Academy of Music (League of Arab States), is organizing the Symposium “Which Music Education for Lebanon? (3)” 

Moreover, a prelude Workshop on Levantine Music Education, conducted by Ms. Nathalie Abou Jaoude and Dr. Hayaf Yassine, will take place on April 17. For more information about the program, please refer to this link.

Audience: Open to the public
Date: Thursday, April 18, 2024
Time: 9:45 AM–1:30 PM
Location: Antonine University, Hadat–Baabda Campus

Symposium Topic

Two decades have passed since the first conference organized by UA in 2003 under the title “Which Music Education for Lebanon?” echoing the state’s decision to make music education mandatory in school education in Lebanon. It has also been 10 years since UA organized a second international conference on the same topic, during which the first Levantine method of music education dedicated to the first cycle of elementary school education was launched. This pioneering method, which is pioneering in the Arab world, is part of an educational strategy developed within UA’s FMM that aims to implement the principle of musical bilingualism for Lebanese children. This principle involves developing the innate musical skills of Lebanese children by simultaneously learning the traditional monodic modal system of Mashriq (the modal tongue) and the Western polyphonic tonal system (the tonal tongue). However, despite the adoption of verbal bilingualism (Arabic + a European language) by all Lebanese schools from kindergarten onwards, the majority of these schools still rely on musical pedagogical methodologies focused solely on the Western tonal system. Furthermore, the major crises (health, financial, and economic) that have impacted Lebanon since 2019 have weakened and marginalized music education in the country’s schools, while the training of music teachers in universities has continued. Consequently, many educators are often tempted to migrate to work in the Gulf countries. Therefore, the objective of this 2024 symposium is to address the twin goals of achieving musical bilingualism and strengthening music education in public and private schools in Lebanon. The Symposium will focus on teaching programs, learning methods, teacher training, and the situation of these educators in schools.

As places are limited, please confirm your attendance by filling out the registration form. 

For more information, please contact Ms. Nathalie Abou Jaoude via chair.dmes@ua.edu.lb or +961 5 927000 ext. 2051 (1:00–7:00 PM).