Igor Nunes Houwat

549 Rampart Way, Apt. 2, East Lansing, MI 48823

Cell: (248) 270-2107
Email: houwat@gmail.com
Website: www.wisaalmusic.com

PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE

Marketing Strategist MessageMakers, Lansing, MI

(Integrated Marketing Communications Services: Video, Events, Learning, Design,
Branding, and Engagement; part of Michigans 50 companies to watch.)
Feb. 2013 Ongoing
Drafting, implementing, leading, and tracking company-wide marketing strategic plan as
integral part of company restructuring.
Leading business expansion efforts in Turkey and China
Writing professional documents, such as proposals, grants, awards applications,
business letters, and reports
Applying for industry awards. MessageMakers has won over 25 awards in 2 years.
Writing for creative projects, including scripts and treatments (ex: treatment for a NEH
documentary grant application)
Project managing
Producing and booking entertainment and volunteers for Lansing Jazz Festival, Old Town
Blues Festival, Michigan Mosaic Music Festival, and Grand American Fish Rodeo
Intern and employee management
Associate Events Planner and Stage Manager -- Saint Vincent Catholic Charities Refugee Service, Lansing, MI
Jan. 2012 June 2012
Booked and produced main stage entertainment for World Day at Hunter Park festival
Demonstrated cultural competencies
Managed the stage on event day
Communicated regularly with co-organizing NGOs
Founder, Musical Director and Business Manager -- Wisaal (Music ensemble whose
name means "links, connections" in Arabic)
East Lansing, MI
Feb. 2010 Apr. 2015
Led the artistic, business, marketing, and accounting facets
Achieved awards, two recordings (one nominated), and media exposure
Booked around 200 shows, including significant venues, across the Midwest in five
years
Fostered artistic collaborations with local and national bands, dance troupes, and a
youth symphony orchestra.
Marketing Assistant -- Michigan State University, College of Music
MSU Community Music School-Detroit, Detroit, MI
Sept. 2011 - Jan. 2012
Conceptualized, shot, and edited a promotional video
Managed social media pages (Facebook, YouTube)
Supported faculty and administration with administrative functions
Mentored and taught students

Project Manager -- Reach Studio Art Center, East Lansing, MI

Summer 2010
Planned and ran a grant-funded fine arts project involving at-risk teenagers and
homeless clients
Recruited guest artists
Created and taught art lessons to the project participants
Curated final exhibit
Teaching Assistant -- Michigan State University, Center for Integrative Studies for
Arts & Humanities and College of Music, East Lansing, MI
Sept. 2007- May 2011
Attached to music faculty to teach Ear Training and Sight Singing; Music and Culture
courses for non-music majors.
Academic Fellow -- Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL)
Sept. 2007 - May 2010
Studied and researched innovative techniques in teaching and learning
Organized two-event series on Middle Eastern Art
Coordinated Festival of Languages at the Center for Poetry
Facilitated project for Residential College students and refugees
Various academic positions in Paris, France and cities in Lebanon
Teacher, Guest Lecturer, Vocal Coach -- 1999 2007
Taught beginning and advanced music students in classroom and private settings
Coached men's voices in church choir
EDUCATION &
HONORS

Current Education
BA in Marketing, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI and Lansing Community
College, Lansing, MI Expected graduation in December 2015
Diplomas
M.A. Ethnomusicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (2011)
M.A. Saxophone Performance, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (2010)
Saxophone diploma, USEK, Kaslik, Lebanon (2004)
B.A. Political Sciences and Minor in Public Administration, American University of
Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon (2003)
Additional musical studies in Paris, France and Lebanon
Scholarships and Grants
Lansing Community College Foundation Scholarship (2013 and 2014)
Scholarship to attend the Arabic Music Retreat hosted by Simon Shaheen, South
Hadley, MA (August 2011)
Hollander Endowment in Musicology from the MSU College of Music (November
2011)

LINGUISTIC
PROFICIENCIES

Arabic and Lebanese dialect

English
Portuguese
French
Conversant in Spanish

PROFESSIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS

Society of Ethnomusicology
American Folklore Society

VOLUNTEER/
COMMUNITY

Volunteer work for underprivileged children in Greece (2008)

Reconstruction in New Orleans (2008)
Afterschool homework tutoring for refugees in Lansing, MI (2009)
Buddhist meditation instruction at a drug rehab facility in Battle Creek, MI (March
2011 - June 2012)
Committee member and volunteer for Lansing JazzFest, Michigan Mosaic Music
Festival, and Old Town BluesFest (now Michigan BluesFest) in Lansing, MI (Summer
2013)
Business strategy consultant with a Buddhist nonprofit church, aiding their expansion
efforts (Spring 2015)

PROFICIENCIES

REFERENCES

Communication skills: Negotiating, networking, public speaking

Team leader and player
Organization and time management
Professional musician; hundreds of live performances on Oud and Saxophone on
three continents

Available on demand.