The National Symphony Orchestra has just kicked off its new season, and there’ll be something for everyone in its forthcoming concerts. TOAD went to investigate the city’s classical roots.
Classical music is still finding its feet in the UAE. There are only a few different outlets for the across the region, such as the Dubai Community and Arts Theatre and the Emirates Palace hotel here in Abu Dhabi; but despite the lack of avenues for classical music to arrive through, demand for it is growing – and the National Symphony Orchestra is at the leading edge of the revival.
Having just commenced the new season with a popular A Night At The Movies… The Sequel opening gala, conductor Andrew Berryman feels certain that the art form is strengthening its roots in Abu Dhabi, and bringing a larger audience to experience classical music live. ‘Culturally, we’re getting more interest from the Arab region than we were in the beginning’, he explains. ‘In all our concerts, we do like to have some kind of Arabic connection, whether it’s with local artists or has some kind of Arabic link in there.’
The upcoming concert, on November 8, The NSO Three Tenors, will see such a collaboration with the Symphony Orchestra and Emirati talent, which will make for a fantastic spectacle to inspire budding UAE musicians. Andrew is excited about this commitment to partnering both local and international musical forces. The show is not just for older generations of classical music fans, it is for those discovering the genre for the first time.
It’s this blending of different musical values that’ll make the upcoming events particularly inspiring. Around The World In 80 Minutes, another concert in the series yet to be scheduled, will be characteristic of the NSO’s multicultural ethic. Not only will more typical symphonic pieces be performed, but different musical forms from around the globe will be on show too.
But it’s not easy getting 60 professionals together in one spot – who do it on a part-time basis – and then playing complex works in front of a paying audience. ‘The biggest challenge is funding,’ Andrew says. ‘We’ve got to find and hire different instruments, we’re borrowing two double basses and a bass clarinet.
We have a fantastic partnership with Brighton College here in Abu Dhabi, and they make all that possible. The next massive problem is finding the musicians to do it, because all the musicians here are busy doing other jobs.’
Despite these obstacles, Andrew’s goal is to create a full-time symphony orchestra, helping to establish a go-to institution for fans of not just classical, but any kind of live music. ‘Our ultimate dream is to try and get the orchestra to be part of the new concert hall that they’re building on Saadiyat [Island]’ Andrew reveals. But that’s just part of the bigger plan.
‘To actually create a full-time symphony orchestra in the region and try to attach that symphony orchestra to a music school. That’s our ultimate goal’.
Getting young people involved in music is an important matter for the orchestra, and Abu Dhabi in general. ‘They are the next people to carry on the legacy that we’re hopefully going to create and then leave’, Andrew says. ‘Which is why we try as much as we can to get Emiratis involved so they can fly that flag’. The NSO is also offering young people the chance to play with them in their Professional Development Programme – the first entrant of which played with them during the opening gala – and pushing Emirati talent such as emerging 13 year-old prodigy pianist Sara Al Kaabi further into the spotlight. ‘If we can expose her this musical world in some way, she could end up on the international stage as an Emirati pianist – how cool would that be?’
The National Symphony Orchestra has a rousing selection of upcoming events, one that matches its ambition with sheer variety. On November 8, the NSO Three Tenors performance will enliven audiences with opera, Neopolitan and Broadway hits, while it will be celebrating the 42nd National Day on November 30 with well-known symphonic works and the return of Balqees Al Fathi lending her stunning vocal ability to proceedings. It’s an exciting time to be a fan of classical music, and the evenings of rich culture that the NSO will be providing over the next few months should be permanently on your radar.
Andrew is determined to get you to come along. ‘I got asked a question yesterday which was, “What is a symphony orchestra?” So the answer to that is, “go to a concert, then you’ll find out!”’
The NSO performs next month November 7, 8, 25 and 30 in various venues around Abu Dhabi. Visit www.uaenso.org for information on these and more events (02 815 6500).
