Opening Our Doors 10/10, Performances by Berklee Student, Alum

Farah Siraj performs at the Event Kick-off, 10:00 a.m. at Massachusetts College of Art, Pozen Center, 621 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA. The event, hosted by a CBS4 "News in the Morning" co-anchor, will also feature a MassArt student fashion show, and a complimentary breakfast reception. Siraj, a native of Jordan who lives in Spain, will perform her original song “To The Sudanese Women,” written for the women and children of Darfur to raise awareness of and support for victims of the ongoing violence in the Sudan. The song will be released on the upcoming benefit compilation CD Sharing Our Songs. With her unique voice that blends influences of Middle Eastern music, Flamenco, and jazz, Siraj has captured the hearts of varied audiences. She has performed in several countries all over the world, including Jordan, Lebanon, UAE, Turkey, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, the U.S., and Canada. Siraj is currently pursuing degrees in Film Scoring and Music Business/Management at Berklee.

The Curtis Brothers, featuring Luques Curtis, will be performing at 11:00 a.m., and 2:00 p.m., at the Museum of Fine Arts, Remis Auditorium, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA. Born in Hartford, CT, bassist Curtis studied at Berklee with John Lockwood and Dave Santoro, on a full scholarship. He was introduced to jazz as a member of the Artists Collective Youth Orchestra, and then attended the Greater Hartford Academy of the Performing Arts, where he studied with Santoro and Paul Brown, and performed at the Havana Jazz Festival. At Berklee, Curtis performed with the Hal Crook Band, Phil Wilson’s Rainbow All-Stars, and the college’s Art Blakey Ensemble, and won a DownBeat Student Music Award. In his sophomore year, he was invited to be a member of Donald Harrison’s quintet and performed on tour with Harrison at jazz festivals in Spain, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and New Orleans. He also has performed with the Christian Scott Sextet in New Orleans, and at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Curtis appears on Gary Burton’s 2005 CD Next Generation, and currently tours with Burton's Generations Quintet.

The 2005 Opening Our Doors! festival – Greater Boston’s largest annual free day of cultural activities – promises more free museum and gallery admissions, concerts, lectures, tours, and activities for families and children than ever before. From NEC’s Jordan Hall to Seully Hall at the Boston Conservatory, a range of classical music and musical theatre will be featured on October 10, and as in the three previous years, the MFA and School of the MFA, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, MassArt, Mary Baker Eddy Library, and Simmons and Wheelock College galleries will all be open to the public, free of charge. Other featured events include a celebration, in song and dance, of the 200th birthday of Hans Christian Andersen at Wheelock Family Theatre; tours of a working Braille printing press at National Braille Press; hands-on learning opportunities at Wentworth Institute of Technology; tours, chamber music concerts, and instrument demonstrations at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Symphony Hall, and the second-annual Simmons College Community Arts Fair, featuring 30 Boston-based artists.

About the Fenway Alliance: The Fenway Alliance, founded in 1977, is a consortium of 22 arts, cultural, and academic institutions working collaboratively to enhance the cultural, environmental and economic vitality of Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over half a century, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today — and tomorrow.