The Syrian National Band for Arabic Music … Documenting heritage and presenting contemporary composers’ products
Out of its belief in the importance of enriching the Syrian music library with original works, the Syrian National band for Arabic Music took upon itself to document the Syrian musical heritage in particular and the Arabic in general in a scientific and professional manner.
The band was founded along with the creation of the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus in 1990, however, it was restructured as it is today to become a professional body in 2003 by the musician Issam Rafie, who was its maestro during that period.
The band is currently led by the Maestro Adnan Fathallah, the founder and leader of the Arab Music Orchestra of the Solhi Al-Wadi Institute and dean of the Higher Institute of Music, where the band presented its first concert with him in 2014.
The Syrian National Band for Arabic Music consists of seventy academic musicians and singers, it presents creative Arabic, oriental, classical and experimental music styles.
The group performs various forms and templates of instrumental and lyrical Arabic music and seeks to develop it despite its rarity, due to the Arab interest for a long time in lyric templates, as it serves poetry that occupies a distinctive position in Arab culture.
The band members perform a wide selection from heritage in order to revive the masterpieces of the last artists and inoculate these creations with the spirit of the age due to the fact that the local identity is the main step in the global march.
The musical distribution is of great importance in the musical melodies played by the band especially that Arab music, by its nature, has a single melody.
The band has held many concerts inside and outside Syria and in many important cultural and community forums . In the coming days, the band members are preparing to present their shows in a way consistent with the conditions imposed by the quarantine.
Amal Farhat