26th Arabic Music Festival to include 84 Arabic musicians

CAIRO – 25 October 2017: The 26th Arab Music Festival will feature 84 Arabic musicians who will partake in the festival, which is dedicated to honoring the iconic singer, Mohsen Farouk, running between November 1 and November 15.

Eight Arabic countries will lead performances in six theaters including the Cairo Opera House, Arabic Music Institute, Alexandria Opera House, and Damanhour Opera House.

The musicians and singers participating in this edition include Medhat Saleh, Mohamed El Helw, Ali El Haggar, Nadia Mostafa, Lotfi Bushnaq, Abdallah Al Rowaished, Mohamed Tharwat, Hany Shaker and Safwan Bahlawan among others.


Arab Music Festival Press Conference [Photo Courtesy: Opera Media Office]

Approximately 14 solo musicians will participate in the festival including Cairo Opera House director Enas Abdel Dayem, Contemporary Egyptian composer Omar Khairat, Salem Abdul Kerem, pianist Hassan Sharara, and Rababa player and violinist Mahmoud Soror.

The festival will also feature 31 choirs and orchestras including Ministry of Youth Orchestra, Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, and Abdel Halim Nowera Ensemble for Arab Music, among others.

Various iconic Arab music figures will be honored such as Talal Maddah, Sayed Hegab, Rageh Daoud, Raad Khalaf, and Amr Selim.

The 26th edition will feature an array of other artistic activities such as a photography exhibition for Farouk, seminar about Maddah and a calligraphy exhibition by Abdel Fattah; alongside a scientific conference about music and drama
The conference will tackle the challenges facing Arabic music and the impact of drama music.

This year’s Arabic Music Festival will include three competition categories including Song Production, Rababah Performance, and Heritage Songs Performance that will be dedicated for children.