Georges Cheikh

George will undertake several trips during which he will help train others in the manufacture of musical instruments, visit various string instrument manufacturers to familiarize himself with the latest manufacturing and maintenance techniques, and receive training in how to handle wood in its raw form. He will also visit the musician and composer Elie Maalouf who owns a large collection of buzuqs and similar string instruments that he had acquired in the course of his 30 year career. This will give George the opportunity to take measurements, examine the different woods and compare construction designs with an eye to imitating or building on them. In addition, he will visit students at the Conservatory of Savigny-sur-Orge music and dance in Paris who have been training on instruments he has made. He will present an introductory seminar on the musical and cultural heritage associated with the buzuq in which he will also discuss the role the individual has to play in the preservation of heritage. At some point during this project, George plans to show some antique and later model buzuqs to the music museum at the Cité de la Musique (Philharmonie de Paris) in the hope of persuading them to include these instruments as part of world heritage.