New York Arabic Orchestra to Perform at Symphony Space in New York

posted on: Oct 11, 2009

Symphony Space in conjunction with the World Music Institute presents the New York Arabic Orchestra – Long-awaited Fall 2009 performance – Friday, October 23, 2009 at 8:00PM. Bassam Saba , world renowned nay (Arabic reed flute) virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist, directs the 30-member New York Arabic Orchestra, sectioned into players of oud (Arabic 11-stringed predecessor of the lute), nay, buzuq (long-necked Arabic stringed instrument), qanun (Arabic zither), western flute, accordion, strings (violin, viola, cello and doublebass), a choral, and featuring the distinguished singers: Salma Marjieh and Naji Youssef.

Saba, a celebrated nay, flute, oud, buzuq and violin player, captivates audiences with his breathtaking skill and passion, both as a performer and conductor. Saba, fluent in diverse musical idioms has collaborated with such artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Sting, Alicia Keys, Santana and Paul Simon, as well as jazz greats Herbie Hancock and Sonny Fortune. Saba has toured extensively with such highly revered Arab artist as Fairuz, Marcel Khalife, Ziad Rahbani, Wadi’ El-Safi, Majida el-Roumi and Simon Shaheen. In his career as conductor, Saba directed amongst other ensembles, the Beirut Symphonic Band, and the orchestras of Kazim El-Saher and Sarah Brightman.

The New York Arabic Orchestra has attracted artists from various cultural backgrounds and musical imaginaries united by their deep passion for Arabic music. Music making in the NYAO is a dynamic and collaborative process bringing together a vibrant community of artists inspired by the forms, modes, ornamentations, and improvisation techniques characteristic of Arabic Music. In the last three years the NYAO has grown in both repertoire and size establishing it’s place in the cultural world as a distinguished institution of Arabic music.

The Symphony Space concert will feature works from the classical Andulasian repertoire and will highlight works by the international diva Fairuz and Wadi’ el-Safi – two landmarks of the Arabic vocal repertoire – composed by the Rahbani Brothers, the legendary Lebanese modern musical pioneers, as well as the talented Philemon Wehbe. The orchestra’s signature however, lies in the performance of original music written for it by its founder and conductor. Saba’s intensely original compositions rooted in classical Arabic music and Levantine folk and nurtured by his years of travel as well as his intricate arrangements are partaking in fashioning new horizons for Arabic music. Escaping ready-made classifications such as folkloric revivalism on one end of the spectrum, and ‘fusion’ experimentalism on the other, the New York Arabic Orchestra’s distinctive voice, a testimony to the fertility and openness of Arabic musical traditions, is carving out a new space in the nation’s musical landscape.