Lebanese singer Ghada Shbeir will perform at a concert on November 16, which will be held in the Oman Auditorium, Al Bustan Palace.
Accompanied with oriental musicians from Lebanon, Ghada Shbeir will perform a selection of different songs by the legends and icons of 20th-century Arabic music: Fairouz and Rahbani Brothers.
The concert will also include muwashahat (Andalusian strophic songs) rearranged in a new style.
Presented by Arabesque International Houssam Diab, the Ambassador of Lebanon to Oman, will also be present at the concert.
The programme is also complemented with series of musical workshops offered by Ghada Shbeir for the student, between 10 to 15 years, from Al Shomoukh and Choueifat.
A graduate of the Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik (USEK), Ghada Shbeir went on to earn a masters and a PhD in musicology, a discipline that has allowed her to combine her talent with her passion for the past, making important discoveries about Syriac musical heritage.
Her albums include Qawaleb (The Modes), Al-Qasida (The Poem), Al-Muwashahat and Andalusiya.
In 1997, she was awarded the first prize in Egypt. She was also awarded the BBC World Music Award for both the Middle East and North Africa for her CD entitled, “Mouachahat” in 2007, and an international prize for the best album worldwide.
From early on in her career, she has dedicated herself to the research of traditional Oriental Middle Eastern music and religious chants. Moreover, she has been researching on a version of more than 700 melodies of the Maronite Syriac chants.
A believer in the role of education, arts and music as a driver for change and for the development of nations, Arabesque International launched the Muscat Chamber Music Series project to make live classical music accessible to the younger generation. The project aims to communicate with new talent through the type of music that is traditionally performed by a small group of instrumentalists, in a relatively small space.
In order to pursue this goal, Arabesque has invited experienced high-quality chamber music ensembles to Muscat, for a period that ranges between one to three weeks, to provide educational and musical activities in schools.
The first season was organised in September 2014. There were three pre-launches concerts.
Then the opening of the Muscat Chamber Music Series Season I took place in April 2015, where some of the musicians of the renowned Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra, conducted workshops for students of different ages from different schools, and a master class for professional musicians from the Oud Hobbyists association.
On April 9, the Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra performed the opening concert of Season I at TAISM (The American School International Muscat) in front of an absolutely delighted audience comprising of all ages.
The Mitja Quartet performed in the final concert of season one in May 2015 at the Zubair Musuem after they gave a series of workshops to many students from different schools.
Arabesque International is a performing art promoter and event organizer with its head office based in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. It was founded in 2012 by the Egyptian German pianist, Ahmed Abouzahra, general manager of East West Art Promotion (Germany/Egypt).
In July 2014, Sayyed Mohamed bin Salim Al Said took over the partnership in Oman. Since its inception, Arabesque International has brought numerous international art institutions in prestigious locations in Oman (Royal Opera House Muscat, Muscat Festival and Al Bustan Palace Hotel); Egypt (Cairo Opera House, Alexandria Opera House); Bahrain (Manama Cultural Hall, National Theatre, Spring of Culture Festival); Qatar (Doha Opera House), Lebanon (Beiteddine Festival) and United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi Classics).
Arabesque also extended its sincere appreciation and gratitude to Al Bustan Palace, the main sponsor, media partners (Al Shabiba, Al Roaya, Wisal Radio and Merge Radio) and donor the Bank of Beirut for their support and generous contributions towards making this event possible.
