FRESNO — Richard Hagopian, an internationally-recognized master of the oud, will present a lecture titled “Melodic and Rhythmic Considerations in Oud Performance” on Thursday April 27, at 4 p.m., in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191.
This public event is co-sponsored by the Middle East Studies Lecture, Performance and Film Series, the Music Department’s Global Music Lecture Series, and the Armenian Studies Program.
Hagopian has recorded four dance albums in the “Kef Time” series and an album of Armenian composers produced by ARC Music in Europe. Hagopian began playing the oud at a young age and has received numerous awards throughout his life including the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award, the nation’s highest honor given in the traditional folk arts, in 1989.
Hagopian has performed throughout the United States and taught a master class at the Manhattan School of Music, as well as teaching as artist-in-residence at California State University, Fresno.
For more than 30 years, Hagopian has played annually at “Kef Time” events, drawing typically 500-1,000 people at dances in Cape Cod, Hartford, Detroit and Fresno. His followers have demonstrated a deep passion for his unique style and authenticity, and overall ability to entertain through his oud mastery and vocal charm.
The lecture is free and open to the public.
