The same day, on the eve of World Arabic Language Day (on December 18, 1973 Arabic became the sixth official language of the UN), students of the Department of Eastern Christian Philology and Eastern Churches took part in a festive student concert at the invitation of Irina Alekseevna Tsaregorodtseva, head of the Middle East Studies Academic Section of the School of Oriental Studies. The guests enjoyed the full day’s program, including a quiz on local knowledge, a calligraphy master-class, creative performances by students of Arabic from the Higher School of Economics, Moscow State University and Moscow Aviation Academy, as well as a recitation contest. Ekaterina Potapova (3^rd year), Anastasia Lavrinenko (3^rd year), Olga Savelyeva (3rd year) and Daria Aleksandrova (1^st year) gave a stylized performance of Psalm 135 in Arabic, accompanied on the violin by Elizabeth Dmitrieva (4^th year), the tambourine by Diana Keleberda (4^th year), and the djembe by Nadezhda Zvezdochetova (3^rd year).

The faculty members M. K. Zerikli, V. V. Stefan and the student Elizaveta Dmitrieva, who was also responsible for the music, took part in preparing the performance.