World Music, truly

A world in which a boy with a black African, Kenyan father and a caucasian American mother, who grows up in Indonesia, and later Hawaii, and who goes on against tremendous - some would say improbable - odds to become president of the United States is a world that is increasingly transcends national boundaries. Whether a Boeing plane with parts from twenty countries manufactured in five nations, or, say, genome research simultaneously advanced by a team spread across a dozen time zones, the mixing and matching of people and ideas is profound, permanent.

Especially in places like KAUST, with inhabitants literally from all around this oblate sphere we live on, heterogeneity is often the norm rather than the exception. This diversity was on full display yesterday at a delightful music recital for many of the campus's younger musicians. Practically each performer was a rainbow coalition. At one performance an English boy with a Sri Lankan mother was playing Sweet Home Alabama, a hit by a decidedly southern white American rock band. In another performance, an Indian girl was accompanied by her Chinese teacher while playing music composed during a cold German winter long ago. Mind you, all this was occurring on a compound in Saudi Arabia, a land not necessarily known for its music.

Music, indeed, helps guide the way in this blurring of national boundaries and stand-alone identities. When I ask my students what they listen to, their answers often span continents, centuries, and genres.  While they may not be listening to fusion music per se, their myriad musical tastes defy simple, convenient definition. The internet allows them to virtually experience much more diversity than in previous generations, and they seem comfortable in this tech panoply. If music is the most human of expressions - the art that can touch us most deeply - then it's safe to say that fundamental expressions of humanity are alive and well in many of youngsters here.

Thanks for reading,
David