The Music Box. Ajyal Film Festival. Highlights of this issue... Qatar Music Academy s monthly newsletter. WMD Recitals. QF Darb Al Saai Tent

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1 The Music Box Qatar Music Academy s monthly newsletter Ajyal Film Festival Four Students from the Arab Music Department, Natali Rimoun F Jouzi (Nay), Nader Abdulsalam ( Ud and voice), Omar Saleh M.Abdulla (Qanun), and Nusaim Abdulsalam (Arab Percussion) participated in the Ajyal Youth Film Festival on December 6, 2014 in Katara. Highlights of this issue... Page 2 QF Darb Al Saai Tent Page 6 WMD Recitals Page 3 AFCENT at QMA Page 10 Important Dates

2 Qatar Foundation s Darb Al Saai Tent The Marasi Ensemble (Yassine Ayari, Taoufik Mirkhan, Bayan Rida and George Oro), had the honour of participating in Qatar Foundation s National Day tent at Darb Al-Saai on the 8th and 11th of December, Students from the Arab Department Abdulla Najjar ( ud) and Noor Ahmed Al-Abdulla (nay) also accompanied Marasi on some songs. AFCENT comes to the AMD! The Arab Music Department held a Professional Development session for The United States Air Force Band (AFCENT) at Qatar Music Academy on Monday 5th of January. The workshop focused on demonstrating and identifying the basic elements of Arab Music such as; Taqsim or improvisation, Maqam or mode and the Arab instrumental music forms such as, Sama i, Lounga, and Dulab. The AFCENT musicians also got to experiment and play the Samai as rhythm during the session. A future Collaboration between AMD students and AFCENT musicians was confirmed during this workshop! The AFCENT musicians and the Arab Music Department teachers With Daniel Boothe, AFCENT Band Director 2

3 Ensemble Concerts- December 11th and 13th It was wonderful to see all of the ensembles perform with enthusiasm over the weekend in December. It was the first time the QMA community had the opportunity to hear the students in the Symphonic Wind and the Youth Orchestra. We are so fortunate to work with so many talented students at QMA. Thank you so much to all of the staff and students involved in preparing and performing at the two concerts. Thank you to Robert Stephenson for recording the two events. I hope you enjoy watching the performances on the links provided, which are here and here. AFCENT comes to the WMD! Some guest musicians visiting from the United States worked with students from Symphonic Winds on November 29th. Mr. Jake McCray coached the woodwinds and Mr. Gene Montgomery and Mr. Chris Hammel coached the brass. Our students played alongside these professional musicians and got lots of great tips on playing their instruments. Everyone learned a lot and had some fun too! 3

4 National Day Celebration On Saturday 13th of December, QMA held its first National Day Celebration. The event was a success with a full house for all three hours. The celebration started with a performance from the AMD Percussion Ensemble followed by a short lecture given by the AMD and then on to performances from both Western and Arab Music Departments. Awards were also given to the below talented Qatari students in honour of their hard work and dedication to music: Ameena Khalid Al Meer Jasim Al-Ishaq Noor al Abdulla Huda Khalid Al Meer Fahad Mansour Ahmed Jenkeer Ali For those who couldn t make it or would like to relive the highlights, click here for the AMD performances and click here for the WMD performances. 4

5 Occidental Music Lab Opening On December 14th 2014, QMA officially opened its music technology lab s doors. Officials from Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) were in attendance as well as the press. The opening began with the cutting of the ribbon followed by a short presentation from Anne-Marie discussing the different ways the music technology lab will benefit QMA and its students. Finally Yassine demonstrated how all the equipment and software works together for further clarity. Here are some articles relating to the event: Gulf Times and Qatar Tribune. QA Talent Quest Anne-Marie, Rachel and Yassine were invited to judge the Qatar Academy, Talent Quest on January 20th. They had a wonderful morning watching so many talented students perform. The day commenced with the KG students and culminated with Grade 5. The acts ranged from playing the piano, comedy, singing to gymnastics. Congratulations to all of the Qatar Academy students! Peter & the Wolf Rachel Seay (French horn), Jo Cathrine (Oboe, Clarinet and bassoon), Rita Rajz (Flute), Katalin Varro (Violin) and Anne-Marie Pigne guy (narrator) performed excerpts from Peter and the Wolf to the PYP students at Qatar Academy, Al Wakra on January 27th. Great fun and entertainment was had by all involved! 5

6 The Music Box December 2014/January 2015 Western Department Recitals Congratulations to all of the students who performed at the numerous recitals during December and January. It was fantastic to see so many students play by memory and perform challenging repertoire. I look forward to hearing you all perform again in the next recitals in April. Pianists, please arrange a time to come and use the Steinway grand in Ziriab Hall. Instrumental students need to arrange at least one rehearsal time with your accompanist prior to the day of the performance. Anne-Marie Pignéguy 6

7 Qatar National Library On the 2nd of December, QMA was visited by the Qatar National Library (QNL) to discuss the resources that they have and to encourage staff to register in order to have access to them. All QMA staff registered. Sharqiyyat Exam Results The exams were held for selected AMD students on the 13th of December. Congratulations to the below students who passed: Nicolai Vucetich Telaya (qanun) - Passed with a Merit Talin Rimoun F Jouzi (qanun) - Passed with Distinction Sami Bou Ghanem (Arab percussion) - Passed Natali Rimoun F Jouzi (nay) - Passed Suzuki Piano Group Recital by Zhivka Pesheva Eiman Mansour Ali, Christopher De Klerk and Jemima Hodgson are part of the QMA Suzuki Piano Group. The students meet once a week to play together as a piano ensemble. Through the Suzuki repertoire the students are learning and developing different musicianship skills such as listening, transposition, harmonization, basic improvisation, ensemble playing and playing from memory. The QMA Suzuki Piano Trio performed pieces from the Suzuki Piano Book 1 & 2 for their friends, families and the audience in Ziriab Hall on the 24th of January. At this event other students also performed; Ethan Wang-Norris (age 6) who skillfully played 16 pieces from Suzuki Book 1; Eiman Mansour Ali also performed the complete Suzuki Piano Book 2 repertoire. Maylaa Radwaani made her first appearance playing the piano with her two sisters Moza and Jumana Almaadhad who also joined in the event performing short pieces from Piano Adventure Piano Series book. Craig Lough who recently joined QMA, performed pieces at the piano by Handel, Bartok & Burgmuller. The recital ended with a performance by Hadeel Himmo, first instrument piano, playing Chopin Waltz op 69 No 2 in b minor. 7

8 Canadian International School Workshop Students (between years old) and teachers from the Canadian International School visited Qatar Music Academy on January 7th, 2015 to learn about Arab music and musical instruments. The Arab Music Department faculty demonstrated the Arab music instruments including; the nay, qanun, ud, rhythms and percussion. Some students even got to experiment making sounds by blowing into a nay and strumming the strings of the qanun and the ud. Trip to New York Yassine Ayari made a trip to New York City from January 8th until 14th, to attend the Global Performing Arts Conference and Marketplace with the hope of securing future collaborations. The conference is the world's largest networking forum and marketplace for music and arts. More than 3,600 presenters, artists, researchers, lecturer, managers, agents and emerging music and arts leaders from all 50 U.S. states and more than 30 countries convene in the city for five days of professional development, conferences, workshops, and performances. During his NY stay Yassine visited the Lincoln Center in New York and met with Jason Olaine (pic), Director of Programming and Touring to discuss future collaborations between QMA and the Lincoln Center. Yassine also had time to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and met with Kenneth Moore, Director of the Musical Instruments Department, in order to discuss future QMA projects in relation to research. With Jason Olaine, Director of Programming and Touring at Lincoln Center, New York The Musical Instruments Department, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 8

9 Internal Piano Exam Report Congratulations to our academic programme first study pianists who took an internal exam before the winter break: Aabrielle Jia Hui Tan, Anna Hickman, Anya Broad, Asmaa Saddiqi, Austin Jia Han Tan, Caitlyn De Klerk, Carolyne Lee, Dana Arakji, Dana Mabrouk Ziana, Daniel Ong, David Sztankov, Eiman Jenkeer, Eimear Galvin, Elizabeth Yu Kern, Euan Lough, Evangelyne Cheng, Fatima Saeed, Goumana Saleh, Hadeel Himmo, Harry Hunter, Hayley Binnekamp, Jemima Hodgson, Kameel Al Saleh, Khalid Himmo, Lana Chouman, Laura Batista, Layla Marshall, Lilian Sztankov, Lina Khalid Al Boinin, Lucas Alexis, Lulwa Al Thani, Lynna Cheng, Masa Al Mutairi, Matilde Bryton, May al Thani, Meera Abu Hejleh, Michelle Chiam, Myriam Helene Mezzi, Natalie Cory Wright, Neha Susan Chindu, Nicholas Tia, Niko Aziz, Nour Ajib, Prama Aulia Soekanto, Reem Al Mannai, Salma Hussanian, Samuel Thompson, Sara Jumaa, Sebastian Tia, Sophia Shaheen, Soryu Vetrini, Taima Aridhi, Tamim Salman M.H Darweesh, Tanya Shibu, Tara Tafreshi, Tom Kelly, Vito Marcacci, William McChesney, Yasmine Dietz, Yasmine Zeaiter and Zainab Al Sufar. The standard this year was impressive with 62 of our 63 first study students giving polished and assured performances of their pieces. Students from levels 1 to eight performed a piece from each of the baroque and classical eras as well as an e tude. Our preparatory students performed two short e tudes and 2 pieces. Grades from A through to C were given for each piece and are printed below. It was wonderful to see how our students have developed over the last 18 months. Our congratulations to all of them and their teachers, and keep up the excellent work! Preparatory Results: A A- B+ B Results for Levels 1 through to 8: A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C

10 AMEB News QMA will be holding mock/practice exams on Friday, February 13th in Ziriab Hall. Please visit the Western Department noticeboard and select a time to complete the mock exam. Parents please note that the students are allowed to leave the exam after 60mins if they are finished. However, we recommend that they stay for the whole allocated time. Timings for the Theory exams are: Grades 1-3: 1½ hours Grades 4-5: 2 hours Grades 6-7: 3 hours Students will need to bring two lead pencils, an eraser and a ruler in a clear bag. They will not be allowed to take a mobile phone into the exam room. Remember to bring something warm to wear as the room can be quite cold. The ABRSM Theory Exams will be on March 7th at Doha College. Students will need to be at Doha College at 8.30am to register for the exam. The exam will commence at 9.00am. Important Dates for your calendar! Arab Department Principal Instrument Recital: January 22nd Ziriab Hall Arab Department Principal Ensemble Recital: January 29th Ziriab Hall Holidays: 30th January -6th of February Second term commences : 7th February Qatar Sports day : Tuesday February 10th QMA is closed Western Ensemble Concert: Thursday 12th March 5.30pm-6.30pm Western Ensemble Concert : Saturday March 14th 5.00pm-6.00pm Student Concert at QNCC: Saturday March 28th ( time to be confirmed) 10