Past Event

Thu, September 14, 2023 at 7:30 PM

ISLAM TAHA & THE CAIRO OUD HOUSE TRIO

Arabic Music Days

Pierre Boulez Saal

While in European music history the organ has traditionally been regarded as the “Queen of Instruments,” it is without a doubt the oud that takes the same place in the music of the Arabic world. Few artists today have achieved greater recognition in promoting the instrument than Naseer Shamma, curator of the Arabic Music Days. As a virtuoso performer, educator, and cultural ambassador, he has not only raised the profile and visibility of the oud around the world, but also developed the instrument itself by adding and changing details of its construction. The “Oud Houses” he established in several cities across the Arabic world have become important training centers for the next generation of musicians.

For the 2023 Arabic Music Days, Shamma has invited fellow oud players and ensembles consisting of students and teachers from the Oud Houses in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, and elsewhere. An extensive program of film, literature, and visual art will provide additional perspectives of contemporary Arabic culture on site and online.

Supported by the Abu Dhabi Festival

Artists

EVENT TIMELINE

Bar opens
18:30
Hall opens
19:00
Start
19:30
No intermission
End
21:30
Bar closes
22:30
Times are approximate.

WATCH 

Video starting from minute 18:15

Why You Shouldn’t Miss This

the artists

Islam Taha

After graduating from the Cairo Oud House in 2014, Islam Taha started teaching there and later took over the school’s direction. He has led the orchestra of the Oud House as well as Egypt’s first all-female oud orchestra at numerous festivals at home and abroad. As a member of Naseer Shamma’s 2350BC Orchestra and with his own ensemble Juthoor, he has given concerts in Spain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among other places. He was awarded first prize and the title “king of oud” at the 2022 Oud Festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

 

Michael Onsy Messiha

Michael Onsy Messiha is a graduate of the Cairo Oud House. He performs in Egypt and beyond with various ensembles as well as his own project Mood of Oud, which he launched in 2019.

 

Azza Mandolin

Azza Mandolin studied music education and taught as Egypt’s first teacher of mandolin at Naseer Shamma’s Oud House in Cairo. She has performed with various formations and as a solo artist at the Cairo Opera House, El Sawy Culturewheel, in Saudi Arabia, Germany, Lebanon, Abu Dhabi, and Spain.

 

Salma Mokhtar

Born in Egypt in 1995, Salma Mokhtar studied with Naseer Shamma at the Oud House in Cairo. She has performed with the school’s orchestra at El Sawy Culturewheel, El Manial Palace, and the Cairo Opera House, among others. Together with Naseer Shamma she has appeared in Abu Dhabi, at the Ithra Theater in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and at the 2021 Global Oud Forum.

 

Fowziyah AbuKhalid

As a poet, author, and scholar, Fowziyah AbuKhalid is among Saudi Arabia’s most important intellectual voices. In 1975, she published her controversial first volume of poetry Until When Will They Kidnap You on Your Wedding Night?. Her texts have been translated into English, German, and Italian, among other languages. In 2009, the first of nine volumes of her collected prose poems was published under the title Water of the Mirage. Holding a PhD in sociology and political science, she has taught at King Saud University and the University of Portland, among other institutions, and published numerous academic books and papers.

principal partner

YOUR VISIT

How to get there

Pierre Boulez Saal
Barenboim-Said Akademie
Französische Straße 33d
10117 Berlin, Germany

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Public transport

U-Bahn U2 Hausvogteiplatz (350m) U5 Museumsinsel, U6 Unter den Linden (600m)
Tram M1, M12 Mitte / Am Kupfergraben
Bus 147 Werderscher Markt (100m), 100, 300, N5 Staatsoper (300m)


By Car 
Q-PARK parking garage Unter den Linden / Staatsoper
Bebelplatz 2
10117 Berlin

Theatre tariff (5:30 pm – 11:30 pm by prepayment): €10

More information on getting there by public transport, bike, or car is available on our Getting there page.

Opening Hours

Box Office

Monday to Friday 2 pm to 6 pm
Closed on weekends and holidays
On performance days, the box office is open one hour prior to an event on weekdays and two hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

 

Papagena Call Center

Ticket hotline +49 30 4799 7411

Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm
Sunday and public holidays 2pm to 8pm

Food & Drinks

Casalot Catering welcomes Pierre Boulez Saal visitors before and after concerts, serving a variety of dishes of Arab cuisine.

On concert nights, the catering opens one hour before the start of an event and remains open after the performance. You may also place pre-orders for intermission right at the counter.

More info on our catering here.

Accessibility

To book wheelchair-accessible seating, other seats for visitors with disabilities, or companion seats, please contact us directly.


+49 30 4799 7411 
| tickets@boulezsaal.de 


All wheelchair seats are accessible by elevator. All visitors, including patrons using a wheelchair, will enter the Pierre Boulez Saal through the main entrance. Tickets will be checked at the hall doors.

In order to make access as easy as possible, we kindly ask that you inform us of your requirements when booking your tickets.

Restrooms for visitors with disabilities are located in the basement and on the balcony level and are accessible by elevator.

Four parking spaces for visitors with disabilities are available on the street Hinter der Katholischen Kirche.

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