Afropop Worldwide

Scott L. Marcus is Professor of Music at the UC Santa Barbara, and author of a splendid introduction to Egyptian music of many sorts called “Music in Egypt” (Oxford University Press).  He has been traveling to Egypt to study since the 1980s, and more recently, to perform there.  He has also been an invaluable advisor to Afropop’s Hip Deep in Egypt series.  As a companion to the program “Cairo: Hollywood of the Middle East,” and the accompanying podcast concerning the new classical music scene in Cairo, here’s a segment from Banning Eyre’s interview with Scott Marcus on September 23, 2011.  This exchange deals with the history of the Cairo Opera House, the growth of the Egyptian classical ensemble, and new developments in classical music in Cairo.