The Music Box. End of Year Ceremony. Highlights of this issue... Qatar Music Academy s monthly newsletter. Examinations. Malta Int l Festival

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1 The Music Box Qatar Music Academy s monthly newsletter End of Year Ceremony Qatar Music Academy is fast approaching it s End of Year Ceremony at QNCC. The Ceremony is a chance for parents and students to celebrate the end of the Academic Year and all the achievements they have made over the course of it. The Ceremony will feature ensembles from the Arab and Western departments as well as a speech from our principal, Dr. Abdul Ghafour Al Heeti. It will take place on Saturday, 13 June at 4.30pm in QNCC (Qatar National Convention Centre), Auditorium 3. The Ceremony is free admission and open to friends, family and children of the QMA community to attend so bring as many supporters as you d like. Please Note: Children in the Academic Programme will receive a certificate and need to be at QNCC by 4pm. For more information please azainal@qf.org.qa. Highlights of this issue... Page 2 Malta Int l Festival Page 5 Examinations Page 4 AMD Recitals Page 8 Important Dates

2 Kind Words It s always great to get positive feedback from people QMA has worked with so here are some kind words about Anne-Marie Pigne guy, Head of Western Music, from Natasha McFadyen, teacher at Qatar Academy, I just wanted to say a final big thank you for the outstanding workshops you so kindly put on for the year 6 children this month. The children really did have a fantastic time and they are still talking about it now. The workshop was extremely well organised and it was pitched at the right level for the students. It has definitely encouraged some of the students to start thinking about taking up an instrument! Once again, thank you very much and I hope we can arrange something similar in the future. Malta International Music Festival Prize Winner! QMA student, William McChesney, won a special prize for his piano playing at Malta s International Music Festival. This is an incredible achievement and QMA could not be more proud of William. Here is what he had to say about the experience It was really scary and the judges were very big and serious. My legs were trembling when I stepped onto the stage. I almost tripped. I was so afraid to make mistakes. The big boys were fantastic and awesome. They play their pieces with super-sonic fingers. I really enjoyed the whole festival and the competition and proud to represent QMA and as a student of Mr Oleg. QMA on Oryx FM On the 20th of May Yassine Ayari gave an interview to Oryx FM, the French radio station. In the interview he discussed his experience as a musician, nay teacher, researcher and Head of the Arab Music Department Here Patrice R. Diakite, Community Liaison Officer at the US Embassy, praises student Abdulla A. Najjar and Yassine Ayari, Head of Arab Music, for their performance at the US Embassy I would like to take this time to thank you so very much for a spectacular performance and lesson that you shared with us yesterday at the American Embassy. Our colleagues are still talking about your pedagogic skills when teaching us about Arabic music. We see the love that you have for the art. It was a pleasure listening to the beautiful sounds from the flute nay and Oud. This was really a treat. Please thank your student, Abdulla A. Najjar, as well. He was amazing. 2

3 QMA in AL Raya On the 18th of May QMA s Principal, Dr. Abdul Ghafour Al Heeti, gave an interview to the Arabic newspaper, Al Raya, discussing his role as Principal of QMA, QMA s achievements and future aspirations. To read the full article in Arabic, click here. Tila wa Toula TV On the 1st of May Yassine Ayari participated in Baraem s TV show, Tila wa Toula. Yassine was introducing and demonstrating the nay to the audience. It was a wonderful and an exciting experience. For more information please visit Baraem TV s web site on here. Recital Thank you to Alie and Lilya for organizing a wonderful recital for their violin students in May. 3

4 Community Outreach On May 20th Jo Cathrine, Rachel Seay and Katalin Varro visited the kindergarten students at Qatar Academy Al Wakra and introduced then to the instruments of the orchestra. A wonderful time was had by all! AMD Instrumental Recital On May 21st the Arab Music Department had their instrumental recitals for the second time this year. Congratulations to all of the students who performed. It was fabulous to see so many students play and perform challenging repertoire. We look forward to hearing and seeing them all progress in the future. Special thanks to Eddy Hackett for his kind support and effort with all AMD Percussion students 4

5 ABRSM Practical Exams Congratulations to all of the teachers and students who have worked so very hard to prepare for the ABRSM exams. We are expecting to receive the results from the ABRSM very soon. Thank you to Alena Pyne (ABRSM Representative) and to the examiner, Roy Robinson for providing the students and parents with such a positive experience. The ABRSM will be selecting the top students from around Doha to perform at the High Scorers Concert on June 6th at QMA, 10.00am pm. All students and parents are welcome to attend to concert which will be held in the Assembly Hall at QMA. Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) Last Saturday, 28 of our youngest students sat their first music exam. The exams have been sent off to Ireland and we look forward to receiving the results before we go on holiday. AMD Sharqiyyat Exam Sharqiyyat exam: The practical Sharqiyyat exam is set for all students in the Arab Music Department who have completed 18th month of instrumental tuition. The exams are held into two sessions during the academic year, the first in December and the second in May. The Instrumental teachers will be providing the Grade levels for the students. Those who are not nominated by their teacher to sit for the exam they ll have another chance to sit for it May. The examination includes set repertoire pieces, maqam drills and sequences, in addition to sightreading requirements.. If the student is in the Music for All Programme and would like to sit for Sharqiyyat practical exam they ll have to get approval from their teacher. The second session of Sharqiyyat exam for the academic year took place on May the 9th 2015 at QMA. Congratulations to the below students for passing their Sharqiyyat exam! Qanun -Omar Saleh M.Abdulla (Grade 2) passed with a merit -Siwar Ayoub (Grade 1) passed with a merit -Ameena Khalid Al Meer (Grade 2) Passed Oud -Nadir Abdul Salam (Grade 2) passed with a merit -Ajwaad al-uwaisheg (Grade 1) Passed with comments -Rakan Raed Ayoub (Grade 1) passed with a merit -Isabell Bekirova (Grade 1) passed with a merit -Abdulla A Najjar (Grade 2) passed with a merit 5

6 The Music Box May 2015 WMD Faculty Concert On the 16th of May the Western Music Department Faculty held their Annual Concert at QNCC. The concert was magical and the audience were thoroughly captivated. To relive the highlights check out our youtube page with videos of the performances here. 6

7 AMD Faculty Concert On the 23rd of May the Arab Music Department had their Annual Faculty concert. The concert was started off with Dr. Abdul Ghafour Al-Heeti saying few inspiring words and introducing Marasi. To watch the highlights on our youtube page click here. Marasi Musicians Yassine Ayari, nay & Kawala Bayan Rida, ud and voice Taoufik Mirkhan, Qanun Khaled Yassine, Percussion (guest) Qatar Music Academy (QMA) established the Marasi Ensemble in 2011 to explore the theory, practice and history of maqam music. It helps QMA achieve its objectives by building awareness and appreciation of traditional Arab music, by preserving the legacy of Arabian musical culture and by fostering new talents. Marasi emphasises the authentic interpretations of traditional maqam music and its compositional and improvisational techniques that are unique to non-western musical culture. Moreover, classical, neo-classical and popular maqam vocal and instrumental music from all over the Middle East will be explored as well. The ensemble comprises faculty members of QMA s Arab music department and performs on traditional instruments such as the ud, nay, Kawal and qanun Programme Marasi showcased Extracts of Instrumental and Vocal Pieces from the Maqam Musical Forms. The maqam musical forms in Arab music have their roots in the Ottoman period, and their names are often Arabic versions of the original Turkish (e.g. Arabic Bashraf from Turkish pesrev). In fact, Ottoman composers wrote most of the well-known instrumental pieces in the Arab classical repertoire, and the most famous pieces are referred to using the composer's name, e.g. Sama i Tatius Afandi. Since the end of Ottoman rule these pieces have remained popular throughout the Arab world, although Arab musicians often perform them quite differently to their Turkish counterparts. 7

8 Important Dates for June Western Music Department Day and Date Time Event Venue Tuesday, June 2nd pm Youth Orchestra rehearsing for the Qatar Academy Dress Graduation: Tuesday, June 2 QNCC Wednesday, June 3rd 5.30pm Performance 7.30pm Youth Orchestra performing at the Qatar Academy Graduation: Wednesday, June 3rd at 7:30pm Dress code: FORMAL BLACK QNCC Thursday, June 4 th pm Ensemble Concert Symphonic Wind Junior Symphonic Wind Percussion Orff Percussion String Ensemble QMA Saturday, June 6 th pm pm ABRSM High Scorers Concert Rehearsal with the Youth Orchestra and the Choir at QMA No Symphonic Wind Ensemble No Grade 4 and 5 theory classes QMA Saturday, June 13 th pm End of Year Ceremony at QNCC Students performing- Youth Orchestra, Junior Choir and Senior Choir All students in the Academic Programme are expected to attend to receive their certificate. QNCC, Auditorium 3 Monday, June 14 th - Thursday June 18 th pm Return your instrument to QMA after your last instrumental lesson. No Ensembles Theory as normal Last week of instrumental lessons QMA Thursday, June 18 th All day Last day of lessons QMA Monday June 22nd 9.00am Academic Reports will be ed QMA June 4th -Ensemble Concert at QMA The students from the following groups will be performing : Junior Strings Suzuki piano group Orff percussion Junior Symphonic wind Senior Percussion Symphonic Wind Dress Formal White blouse/shirt and black long skirt or trousers with black shoes. Parents and friends are welcome to attend this special event. Rehearsals for End of Year Ceremony SPECIAL NOTE FOR MEMBERS OF YOUTH ORCHESTRA, JUNIOR CHOIR AND SENIOR CHOIR June 6th Rehearsals: pm Choir in Ziriab Orchestra in the Assembly Hall pm Choir together with the orchestra to rehearse Purcell and Sing. June 13th Rehearsals: Dress Formal White blouse/shirt and black long skirt or trousers with black shoes. Rehearsal and sound check at QNCC at 1.30pm for the Youth Orchestra and 2.30pm for the choirs. Students will stay in QNCC from 3.30pm-4.30pm ( Refreshments will be provided for the students in this time) Parents arrive at 4.15pm Performance at 4.30pm-5.30pm at QNCC ( For students who attend Doha College they can leave at 5.00pm to go the Doha College ceremony) 8

9 The Music Box May 2015 Important Dates for June Western Music Department Instrument Collection: June 14th -18th All Qatar Music Academy instruments will be collected in the last week of the school year. After the student has had their last lesson they will be required to return their instrument to Anne-Marie Pigneguy between pm. A parent will need to be present to sign the return form. 9