Damascus-SANA
Since its establishment in 1961, the organizers of the Salhi Al Wadi Institute of Music have cultivated successive generations of musicians who have become a milestone in the history of contemporary music as instrumentalists, academic composers and leaders of professional bands who have ably represented their country in local and international forums.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the founding of the Salhi Al-Wadi Institute, the Institute, along with the Directorate of Technical Rehabilitation, the Department of Institutes, Music and Ballet at the Ministry of Culture, organized a diverse musical celebration in which 195 male and female students from the Institute participated between a choir player and singer, on the opera stage at Dar Al-Assad for Culture and Arts.
4 orchestras of the institute’s students participated in the celebration, namely the classical led by George Moussa, the training of Rama Al-Barsha, the guitar, led by Yazan Al-Jajah, the training of Nadine Taqi Al-Din, the oriental music led by Mahdi Al-Mahdi, and the jazz led by Dalama Shehab. He also supervised the training of the choir, singer Sumer Najjar and percussion Ahmed Ali.
At the beginning of the celebration, the classical orchestra played the Syrian Arab anthem, then a documentary film was shown that reviewed the history of the institute since its inception and its role in supporting the Syrian music scene in generations that led and directed it.
The Minister of Culture, Dr. Lubana Mushouh, indicated that today's celebration is a tribute to those who built this edifice and embraced generations of children who joined the institute since the age of six and studied there for nearly 7 years, after which they joined the Higher Institute of Music. She thanked the Vice President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Dr. Najah Al-Attar, who was It has white hands on the Syrian culture, especially the expansion of the institutes to include most of the governorates through a beautiful and productive journey that overcame difficulties.
In his speech, the Director of the Conservatory of Music Priam Sweid stated that the tree, which was planted 60 years ago, has deep roots and proudly occupies a prominent corner in the Syrian Culture Garden, which shaped the painting of the musical scene in Syria, the Arab world and the world with sound foundations and academic standards as a translation of the depth of the thought of its late founder, Salhi Al-Wadi.
Suwaid reviewed the steps and stages of building the institute, including bringing in experts, establishing teams, and sending the first students abroad through scholarships and scholarships to complete their sciences, to form the basic building block for the Syrian symphony and professional ensembles, pointing out that the number of the institute’s students today reaches 1,100 students who learn all musical instruments.
A piece by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, the godfather of classical music since the eighteenth century, was attended by the classical orchestra, which includes fifty students and was established since the eighties of the last century with the aim of training students in group work and providing orchestral playing experience to help them in their future lives in working in professional teams.
The celebration audience also watched the playing of three pieces of music entitled Disney Meldy, Steel Loving You, and Hotel California for the Guitar Orchestra, which was founded by musician Yazan Al-Jaja in 2017, and has many local participations, and consists of students who excel on the guitar in the institute, accompanied by professors who play different styles.
The celebration also included the playing of four different pieces of jazz music by Arab and foreign authors, performed by the jazz orchestra, which was established at the end of 2019 by a group of brass instrument players, accompanied by electric instruments, piano and drums, with the aim of spreading jazz music and playing outside the molds of traditional music to express the renewed ideas of young people.
The oriental music’s share in the celebration was represented by four works from Muwashah Nam Dam’i by Abu Khalil Al-Qabbani, Naqili Ahla Zahra by Zaki Nassif, The Case of Ahmed’s Uncle by Omar Khairat and Mawtani by Muhammad Fleifel, presented by the Arab Music Orchestra and Choir led by Maestro Adnan Fathallah, who was its leader at its founding ceremony on the library stage. National Lion 2008.
At the end of the evening, the Minister of Culture, Lubana Mushawah, honored a number of professors who had clear imprints on the institute’s work. They are the late Salhi Al-Wadi, founder and director of the institute for nearly 40 years, Cynthia Al-Wadi, one of the first piano teachers at the institute, Khader Junaid and Elham Abu Al-Saud, one of the first teachers of Solfege. Riad Sukkar is one of the first violin students, and Nadia Sayegh has been a solofege teacher for more than 30 years.
Svetlana Al-Shata and Victoria Sanbar, piano teachers for more than 27 years, Emad Al-Samman, teacher and founder of the double bass class since 1994, Waseem Ghriwati, teacher and head of the guitar department for more than 30 years, and the late Mazen Saleh from the guitar department were also honored.
Rasha Mahfoud