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Higher Institute of Music in Damascus

Coordinates: 33°30′44″N 36°16′44″E / 33.51222°N 36.27889°E / 33.51222; 36.27889
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The High Institute of Music in Damascus (HIM) (Template:Lang-ar) is the national music academy in Syria. It was founded in 1962 by music educator and conductor Solhi al-Wadi as the Arab Institute of Music and was established in its current form in 1990 by presidential decree. The aim of the institute is to prepare upcoming generations of musicians to perform both Arabic and international music.[1]

The institute trains students in various Arabic and western musical instruments. It also teaches the principles of individual, collective, Arabic and international vocal music performance. Further, it offers courses for future composers and band leaders and prepares researchers in musicology, especially to study Arabic music. The institute has trained students for musical ensembles with string, wind and percussion instruments, for the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra, Arabic music choirs and orchestra, as well as for opera singing.[1] Further, the HIM participates in musical activities both in Damascus and in other cities in Syria. The HIM is housed in the same building complex as the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts and located next to the Damascus Opera House on Umayyad Square.

Before the Syrian Civil War the institute employed several Russian teachers.[2][3] Among them was Victor Babenko, choir conductor and the leading author of a musical dictionary and harmony textbook for Syrian music.[4]

Notable staff and graduates

Faculty

  • Solhi al-Wadi, founder and first director
  • Cynthia al-Wadi, (piano)
  • Lubana al Quntar, soprano singer, former Head of the Opera Department at the High Institute of Music in Damascus (2003–11), (opera and Arabic singing)[5]
  • Gaswan Zerikly, (piano)
  • Raad Khalaf, (violin and ear training)
  • Victor Babenko, and other teachers from Russia (harmony, music theory and choir conductor)
  • Anatoly Muratov (clarinet)
  • Vladymir Zaretsky (piano)
  • Victor Bunin (piano)

Graduates

  • Dima Orsho, soprano singer and composer, member of the Syrian Hewar ensemble and of Baroque and world music ensembles, based in the U.S.[6]
  • Kinan Azmeh, clarinetist and composer, member of Hewar ensemble and of jazz, world music and contemporary classical ensembles, based in the U.S.[6]
  • Issam Rafea, former Head of the Arabic Music Department, oud player and composer, member of Hewar ensemble and of Arabic and world music ensembles, based in the U.S.[7]
  • Lena Chamamyan, soprano singer and songwriter, based in Paris[8]
  • Mireille Bittar, soprano singer, based in Amsterdam
  • Maias Alyamani, violinist and composer
  • Hassan Taha, oud and horn player, based in Switzerland[9]
  • Basel Rajoub (saxophone)
  • Shafi Badreddine (oud, composer)[10]
  • Dania Tabbaa (piano)[11]

In 2004, Kinan Azmeh, Dima Orsho, Issam Rafea and other former graduates of the HIM formed the jazz fusion band Hewar.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "International Directory of Music and Music Education Institutions". idmmei.org. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  2. ^ "Российские музыканты проведут мастер-классы для студентов консерваторий в Сирии (Russian musicians hold master classes for students of conservatories in Syria)". tass.ru. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  3. ^ Александровна, Рапацкая Людмила; Раша, Харфуш (2019). "Культурологическим подход к периодизации развития сирийской музыкальной культуры как научный инструментарий её освоения будущими музыкантами-педагогами в России [A cultural approach to the periodization of the development of Syrian musical culture as a scientific tool for its development by future music teachers in Russia]". Музыкальное искусство и образование. 7 (3): 138–150. ISSN 2309-1428.
  4. ^ "Традиционное искусство пения в контексте современного музыкального образования сирии (Traditional art of singing in the context of modern musical education in Syria)". cyberleninka.ru. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  5. ^ "Lubana al-Quntar". www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  6. ^ a b "Artists". Songs For Days To Come. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  7. ^ "Issam Rafea – Crossing Borders Music". Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  8. ^ "Lena Chamamyan". auroraprize.com. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  9. ^ SWR Classic (2012-09-25). "Hassan Taha". swr.online (in German). Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  10. ^ "Contemporary Classical Music in Syria". https://syrian-heritage.org/. Retrieved 2022-10-12. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  11. ^ General-Anzeiger Bonn (2018-11-23). "Woche der Kulturen: Grenzen überwinden mit Kunst und Literatur". General-Anzeiger Bonn (in German). Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  12. ^ "Syria: Oriental Jazz with a Touch of Classical Music - Qantara.de". Qantara.de - Dialogue with the Islamic World. Retrieved 2022-10-09.

33°30′44″N 36°16′44″E / 33.51222°N 36.27889°E / 33.51222; 36.27889

Further reading

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