Pre-Concert Talk with Habib Shehadeh Hanna
Event details
Open lecture, chaired discussion and performance
How can music act not only as an art form, but also as a means of cultural preservation, education and collective resilience? In this open lecture, Habib Shehadeh Hanna explores music as cultural activism, focusing on the ways Palestinian cultural expression can be sustained through creative practice, teaching and community-building.
Drawing on decades of work as a composer, performer (oud and buzuq), musicologist and educator, Hanna reflects on how cultural traditions are carried forward – through repertoire, new composition and the everyday work of creating spaces where artists and communities can learn, collaborate and be heard. The lecture will consider the relationship between artistic innovation and cultural continuity, including the role of Arab maqam traditions in shaping contemporary practice and dialogue across musical worlds.
The lecture will be followed by a moderated discussion and extended Q&A chaired by Craig Robertson (Humanities Research Centre, HCR), creating space for interdisciplinary dialogue with colleagues from the University of York and questions from the wider public.
The evening continues with the concert Notre Dame Reimagined: Le Remède de Fortune, in which Hanna will perform his own compositions and present a new collaborative work with HRC Research Fellow Loré Lixenberg and artist Erin Robinson, as well as Dr Federico Reuben and Dr Matt Barnard (School of Arts and Creative Technologies).
About the speaker
Habib Shehadeh Hanna is an Arab-Palestinian composer, performer, musicologist, educator and community organiser based in Haifa. He studied musicology, theory and composition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (Hebrew University), and taught oud, music theory and student ensembles at the National Conservatory of Music (later the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music) in East Jerusalem. In 1999, he was appointed director of the conservatory’s Ramallah branch.
In 2002, he founded Al-Mashghal (The Factory) – Arab Center for Arts and Culture, which he continues to direct. The Factory is an independent NGO and creative hub that combines instruction in Eastern Arabic music with Western classical instruments, foregrounding opportunities for Arab-Palestinian artists and musicians through education, performance and cross-cultural collaboration in Israel and internationally.
Hanna is also a recognised film and theatre composer, with credits including The Band’s Visit (2007), Lemon Tree (2008) and Eid (2024). His work often fuses Arab maqam traditions with Western forms, and he is widely respected as an authority on Arab maqam. Alongside extensive artistic projects, he has published a Music Dictionary (2015) and has overseen curriculum development in music theory, oud and buzuq performance, composition and ensemble work.