In seatch of this beautiful instrument, TOAD went inside the oud hub of Abu Dhabi.
The mysterious, hidden building that is the House of Oud (or Bait al Oud), is tucked in behind the One-to-One Hotel in Al Nahyan. The converted villa is a tribute to everything that is oud, though you wouldn’t know to look at it, which is why we couldn’t find the building straight away.
Oud is a traditional Arabic, pear shaped, guitar-esque instrument. It produces a somewhat stringy sound and is considerably more challenging to learn than the guitar because it has no frets on the neck. The instrument’s origins date back more than 5,000 years.
We walk through the House of Oud, entranced by the quiet and mystery that hang in the air. It’s a Friday so there aren’t any students around. Professor Sherine Tohamy walks us through this interesting building, showing us the performing area ‘where the students perform for their families and friends’ she explains, then up to the classrooms. The building has an old Arabian charm, brass chandeliers, golden décor and deep burgundy colours with trinkets and ornaments as well as books to set the tone. ‘We have around 50 students over three areas at Bait al Oud; oud, kanun and voice,’ Sherine tells us.
It all began in Cairo, where Naseer Shamma founded the first Bait al Oud in 1998. Sherine was recruited in Cairo and has worked for Bait al Oud since 2002. Shamma then looked to branch out and found Abu Dhabi to be a suitable host for a second school. Sherine has been in Abu Dhabi now for six years. ‘My favourite part of teaching music is creating a new vision for my students in themselves, and to get the new generation interested in our traditional music,’ she says.
The school plays host to a myriad of students of all races, ages and genders, but not only is the building a hub for musical education, they also have a workshop where they make ouds. It’s an i nteresting spectacle to watch how these magical instruments are made. ‘We make a smaller sized oud for females. It makes it easier – traditionally, the oud was very male-dominated but we want to change that,’ Sherine tells us.
Change it, Sherine has. She has become something of a poster-girl for female oud players – she was not only the first female graduate from the school, but she also was the first female oud artist to release an album. Her international profile is growing given her talents and penchant for international performances.
The students (and on occasion teachers) perform in the ground level’s performance space, with classrooms upstairs and bookshelves throughout the school. The school began in one converted villa, but when demand for lessons went up, they expanded into a second villa Sherine explains – hence the extensive floor-plan.
House of Oud offers classes for Dhs1,000 per month for three lessons per week. Al Nayhan (02 641 5699).
About Sherine
Something of a star in the Oud world, Sherine has not only been on music tours to Japan, Malaysia, France and across the Middle East, but she is a graduate of Bait al Oud herself – the first female to graduate from the programme.
She began playing instruments at a young age. It was when she performed for Naseer Shamma that Sherine became involved with Bait al Oud – when she was recruited to the music programme. She has, since 2002, worked for Bait al Oud both in Cairo (for seven years) and now here in Abu Dhabi.
In July, she toured in Japan, previously to that visited Malaysia and was a member of the only all-female traditional band, Najmaat, that played at the Abu Dhabi Festival.
