The Faculty of Music at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), in collaboration with the Arab Academy of Music, organized from July 7 to July 9, 2011 an international colloquium on “School Music Education in Arab Countries”, with the participation of a number of experts in musicology and specialists in musical education from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, Algeria and Iraq. The official opening ceremony ended with a concert in memory of Philemon Wehbe, given by the “Sawt El Atiq” Choir, conducted by Rev. Fr. Miled Tarabay.

The colloquium shed light on school music education, its curricula and the importance of maintaining its national identity and its rooted heritage, despite the globalization wave which is devastating the world through modern technologies. The Faculty of Music was the first in the Arab region to establish a Music Education Department, in order to prepare teachers and start Music Education programs in Lebanon and the Arab region based on scientific studies and the heritage of each country.

In conformity with its educational and academic responsibility, as well as with its objectives relating to research, education and art, the Faculty of Music aimed through this colloquium to highlight the importance of school music education, and study, criticize and rectify the curricula adopted in the Arab countries, according to the scientific and national foundations, and to focus on the importance of continuous training of teachers, and how to benefit from modern technology in the world of Music Education.

Throughout the 3 days of conferences, the colloquium tackled 5 different themes: the current situation of music education in Arab countries, music education in schools, training of music education teachers, the role of Arab music traditions in teaching music, and the pros and cons of the music education curricula in Arab countries.