TCA Abu Dhabi launches Emirate-wide music programme

Leading contemporary Arab and Western classical musicians from around the world will perform in the emirate during a new, eight-month-long music programme announced by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, TCA Abu Dhabi.

The music programme, which includes Abu Dhabi Classics, running from October 2017 until May 2018, Umsiyat, which will be held through January 2018, Bait Al Oud Concert Series and the Emirati Music Series, both year-round music programmes, are an integral part of TCA Abu Dhabi’s cultural vision for the emirate, and attracts some of the world’s best musicians and orchestras to Abu Dhabi.

Alongside the concerts, performances and renditions from world-renowned musicians in prestigious venues across the emirate, there will also be a vibrant public programme that will include talks, masterclasses and lectures to be organised across Abu Dhabi.

Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director-General of TCA Abu Dhabi, said, "Music has played an essential role in Emirati life for centuries, binding people together and leaving a legacy that we have a duty to preserve long into the future. Our music programme blends classical and contemporary, spans different continents and cultures, and has the central theme of unifying different age groups and nationalities through a collective passion for music."

"We aim to inspire the younger generation and show that music is a universal language. Our music programme will invite leading Emirati artistes and world-class orchestras to Abu Dhabi, and will underline the emirate’s status as an international destination for culture and arts," he added.

Abu Dhabi Classics, which is for the first time being organised in cooperation with the region’s premier live events company Flash Entertainment, begins a new season on 12th October with a concert by the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra from Switzerland in the stunning setting of Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain for an evening of Grieg, Wagner and Beethoven. The following night, the orchestra, which was established in 1806, will perform repertoires from Rossini, Rachmaninoff and Brahms in Abu Dhabi. Both nights will feature American piano maestro Nicholas Angelich.

Complementing the music programme will be the Emirati Music Series, which will hold a series of concerts starring prominent Emirati singers and musicians, including Ahmed Al Hosani, Said Al Salem and Oud master Faisal Al Saari.

The highlights of the series will be a performance by Emirati singer Ahmed Al Hosani on Delma Island in December, with fellow musicians joining him for a programme of classical and modern Arabic music, while another concert featuring Faisal Al Saari at Manarat Al Saadiyat will see Emirati singers and musicians perform the poems of Sheikh Zayed, in honour of the former president and to mark 2018 as the Year of Sheikh Zayed.

Bait Al Oud, the leading musical academy in the UAE under the artistic direction of Oud Legend Naseer Shamma, which is dedicated to becoming a regional hub for musicians focussed on Arabic music and instruments while training and developing young Emiratis in the expert use of traditional instruments, will again hold a series of concerts and performances as part of the music programme.

Graduation ceremonies for students trained to play the Oud and Qanoon are to be held at various locations in the emirate, while guest musicians will perform with members of Bait Al Oud for a concert scheduled to be held at Qasr Al Muwaiji in Al Ain this December.

"Bait Al Oud plays an essential role in documenting Arab music heritage and helps restore the role of music as a fundamental element in the cultural life of the UAE," added Ghobash.

A new series of Umsiyat begins in January 2018 with a series of outdoor performances, combining spiritual music and poetry that celebrate heritage. The last edition of Umsiyat combined music and poetry from the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Pakistan and Turkey, and featured some of the most renowned artistes in their field, including performers such as Faiz Ali Faiz and Alim Qasimov.