Brooklyn Maqam fosters community engagement with music based on the Arabic maqam, a complex melodic system, by presenting and promoting selections from Middle Eastern (especially Arabic) musical traditions. In this program, the ensemble Zikrayat performs vocal and instrumental music from Egypt and Syria, featuring traditional instruments such as the oud, qanun, riqq, and violin, as well as vocals by Sami Abu Shumays and Zafer Tawil.