Music of Syrian expatriate reflection of homeland to Russian cities

Moscow, (ST)-  Syrian musician Kamal Ballan played his music in the cities of Siberia in northern Russia, as he performed five cultural artistic concerts entitled “Syria, the cradle of civilizations”.

The concerts, which were attended by a large number of members of the Syrian Arab community and locals, included musical and lyrical performances, in addition to broadcasting a documentary film about Syria’s deep-rooted civilization and its most important historical and tourist features. The musician’s concerts were held in the cities of Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk and Leninsk.

Ballan stated to SANA that he wanted, through his concerts, to convey a message to the whole world that war and terror cannot wipe out a civilization dating back thousands of years, and that Syria will continue to be the cradle of culture, life and humanity.

The concerts included a brief explanation of the history of Syria, the discovery of the Ugarit alphabet and the first musical note discovered there, the Mesopotamian civilization, in addition to a poem by Ballan depicting the effects of the terrorist war on Syria.

Ballan concluded his concerts with a musical performance on the lute, where he played Syrian, Arab and international melodies, in addition to a hymn entitled (Bless Syria, Lord), which was presented in both Arabic and Russian, with the operatic singer Natalia Boduruga.

Ballan won international prizes in the field of art and poetry, most notably the second prize in the International Competition for Composing and Playing, which was held at the Elena Gnesina Institute in Moscow.

Amal Farhat