The Qatar Philharmonic opens the 2023/24 season with a unique event that aims to enhance and preserve Gulf folk music by intertwining traditional folk styles with a Western orchestra.
The music will emphasise Qatar’s rich maritime history with influences from the art of ‘Fijiri’, a traditional form of music associated with pearl divers and the sea. Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra’s (QPO) deputy executive director, Nasser Sahim composed the music for the event, with Dr Amer Jaffar. The orchestra will be led by distinguished Uzbek conductor Kamoliddin Urinbaev.
The concert will take place on September 2 from 7.30pm to 9.30pm at Abdulaziz Nasser Theatre, Souq Waqif. The artist, Nasser Sahim, confirms that this musical work derives from the spirit of Qatari and Gulf heritage arts, especially in the Ahl al-Bahr (Arabic for people who live close to the sea) region.
Sahim, the creator of the idea for this work, explained that he and Dr Jaffar worked together to present a musical that explores the development of joint Gulf folk arts in an orchestral way and to show the forms of these valuable heritage arts to the music world with a new thought.
