13 April 2019
Grand Bahraini-French Concert, conducted by Maestro Waheed Al khan
In celebration of fundamental strong cultural bridges between the whole world community, and the embodiment of the special cultural cooperation ties between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the French Republic, Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities is honored invite lovers of music concerts to attend the gorgeous performance of the latest album "The Return - Spirit of Bahrain" by Maestro Waheed Al Khan, accompanied by the French Sinfonia Pop Orchestra, on 15 April at 7:00pm at Hall No 1, at UNESCO headquarters, Paris.
The Concert, The Return: Spirit of Bahrain which reflects on the stories and scenes that were built around the kingdom, and also aims to preserve the country’s beauty, love and harmony, while cherishing the memories of those who lived it, and showcase sceneries to those who didn’t, was performed at Kodály Center, for the first time on stage in Pécs, Hungary, Capital of European Culture, in September 2018. Maestro al Khan proudly presented last November his State of the Art compositions, album “The Return" for philharmonic orchestra during his second concert at the Cairo Opera House, accompanied with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, as well as during BACA’s annual celebration of the National Action Charter, on 14 February 2019 on National Theater stage.
This album is meant to introduce Bahrain to the world through state-of-the-art music. Performed by the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, the is composed in orchestral standards with a distinctly Bahraini flavour, reflecting stories and scenes built around the spirit of Bahrain which resides in the mind and heart of its composer Waheed Alkhan. it will also reflect BACA’s support for art and music, talented and outstanding names, such as Waheed Al-Khan, one of the pioneer and founder of modern Bahraini music movement. Al-Khan’s The Return of Spirit album is professionally written for a philharmonic orchestra and oriental instruments with Bahraini flavor. This album was performed by Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra recorded in one take ( all performing together ) then the oriental instruments were added. The total number of performers is 94 musicians, while the mixing and mastering is done in the UK by engineer Gareth Williams. Besides music compositions, a specially written songs for the occasion will be performed by famous French and Arab artists, such as Abir Nasraoui, artist Abou Ghabi, child Mariam and artist Hajer Harraq.
Worth to mention that Maestro Waheed Al-Khan is Bahraini composer and musician, who graduated from Cairo Conservatory of Music (1982) with a Bachelor Degree in Oboe and Piano, then got a Master Degree in Ethnomusicology. He also had founded the first classical music institute in Bahrain, shining upon the music scene training and education from 1986 to 2003. He started his musical career very actively in the 80’s then got occupied by the world of business for more than 10 years before deciding to make a comeback to his original passion and gifting us his aptly named album The Return.
It is worth mentioning also that Constantin Rouits, a trained cellist who trained at the National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris, has been a permanent conductor at the Massy Opera Orchestra since 2013. He boasts a deep experience in music conducting, having led ensembles in various European countries, as well as asserting himself in the lyric repertoire. He also serves as the musical director of the innovative Sinfonia Pop Orchestra, which he co-founded in 2010 to be a professional orchestra specializing in film music and live concert and studio recording.
