16 April 2019
Celebrating Special International Community Relations, BACA Organizes UNESCO’s “ The Return” Concert, conducted by Maestro Waheed Al khan
The Paris-based UNESCO headquarters hosted, on 15 April 2019, a grand and gorgeous music performance of the latest album "The Return - Spirit of Bahrain" by Maestro Waheed Al Khan, accompanied by the French Sinfonia Pop Orchestra, together with French Maestro Constantin Rouits. The evening of music was attended by H.E Shaikha Mai bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities President, high officials and directors of culture and arts institutions inside and outside the French Republic, as well as diplomats, culture and media personalities.
Speaking for the occasion, H.E Shaikha Mai bin Mohammed Al Khalifa expressed her thanks to Maestro Waheed Al Khan and organizers of "The Return - Spirit of Bahrain" concert at UNESCO, stressing the importance of arts and music in building cross-countries’ bridges of universal communication channels, through music, culture and highly-refined sensational talented masterpieces. Bahrain Culture has always believed that music is one of the most primal and fundamental aspects of human culture, the universal language of mankind, sharing with whole world Bahrain’s intangible heritage, which has been warmly welcomed by UNESCO, H.E added. The responsibilities laid upon cultural institutions to build bridges of historical dialogue between civilizations and sharing this uniqueness amid differences are of an essence, H.E concluded.
During the concert, Maestro Waheed Al-Khan performed creative music compositions inspired by his album “The Return - Spirit of Bahrain" , 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 Al-khan. Al-Khan’s The Return of Spirit album is professionally written for a philharmonic orchestra and oriental instruments with Bahraini flavor. Besides music compositions, a specially written songs for the occasion were 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.
