HE Middle East Ensemble is an official "Ethnomusicology Performance Ensemble" in the Music Department of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Founded in 1989 by ethnomusicology professor Scott Marcus, the Ensemble has performed widely throughout California including concerts in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Pomona, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Berkeley, Sacramento, San Diego, Tucson, Arizona and Washington D.C. In Fall 1999, seven members of the Ensemble performed in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan as the sole U.S. representatives at the International "Melodies of the East" Festival in the city of Samarkand.

The Ensemble's repertoire reflects the great diversity of cultures found in the Middle East: music and dance from Arab, Turkish, Persian, Armenian, Greek, Sephardic and Oriental Jewish, Kurdish, and Assyrian cultures. Performance items range from classical pieces to religious, folk, popular, and children's songs, as well as folk, classical, and cabaret-style dances.

You can read more about the UCSB Middle East Ensemble on their Middle East Ensemble web page.

All profits from the sales of Middle East Ensemble CDs, T-shirts, and videos go to the UCSB Middle East Ensemble.