Naseer Shamma & Orontes: Flamenco Night
at the Bluma Appel Theatre

Date: Fri, Nov 01, 2019 08:00PM
Price: For tickets, please visit http://www.stlc.com/event/naseer-shamma-and-orontes/

For one magical evening, Naseer Shamma, considered one of the top five oud masters in the world, is joined by Orontes, a quartet of young Syrian guitarists who are currently Fellows of the Artist Protection Fund. Together, these performers will bring Flamenco and classical Arabic music to life in unique fashion.

This event is a co-production with Canadian Arabic Orchestra and is held offsite, at the Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front St. East. It’s part of our 2019/20 Performing Arts season, Listening to Each Other, which pays tribute to the role of the performative arts in connecting communities, preserving culture, and spurring social change.

Bios:

Nasser Shamma was born in Kut, Iraq, and began studying the oud at the age of 12, graduating from the Baghdad Academy of Music in 1987. Since then he has performed internationally, composed music for films, plays, and television, and founded a school, the Arabic Oud House in Cairo. He was the first artist to construct and play, to an audience of oud scholars, an eight-string oud described by the 9th-century music theorist Al Farabi.

Orontes is a Syrian guitar quartet that’s risen from the ashes of their war-torn homes to make music that speaks to all humanity. Comprised of Gaby Al Botros, Orwa Al Sharaa, Nazir Salameh, and Mohammed Mir Mahmoud, they have performed with the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra and are now Artist Protection Fund (APF) Fellows and Visiting Artists at the University of Victoria in B.C. They are among the youngest artists, and the first collective, to be named APF Fellows.