Congratulations to Simon Shaheen for receiving an honorary doctorate degree from American University of Beirut. Simon has been teaching at Berklee College of Music since 2011 and direct the Global String Ensemble, as well as “Qantara Berklee”, and Arabic music ensemble composed of students enrolled at the campus.  He teaches violin, cello, and mandolin, along with the Arabic oud and qanun.   “What I’m bringing to Berklee is my experience as a Western classical musician, Arab traditional musician, and this eclectic fusion of music from around the world, which I grew up with. I speak five languages because I grew up with it; it’s not like I learned in later stages. So it’s part of me. Berklee is the place where I can bring all this experience, because the idea is not to create compartments of music, but to open the walls and let all these experiences seep into each other.”  Maestro Shaheen appears as a solo performer, with his ensemble Qantara, or as an instructor of workshops and master classes.  Mabrouk Ustad Simon!