Wesam Obied, the first online female Violin teacher in the Arab World
Mrs. Wesam Obied is the first online female Violin teacher in the Arab World and she has two music centers in Syria, one of them is in Damascus and the other one is in her hometown, Masyaf.
She started her journey in the music field after she decided to stop her studies at the faculty of Arabic Language because she had become certain that being an Arabic teacher was not her cup of tea.
“ I followed my heart and I studied music in a church in Mesyaf for a long time as there was no College of Music at that time. In 2007, I opened my music center in Masyaf where hundreds of students graduated from it… I have worked on developing the work in the center through making contracts with teachers from both the college of Music in Homs, which was opened when I founded my center, and the Higher Institute for Music to give lessons in the center,” Mrs. Obied told Syria Times.
She also worked on developing herself through taking lessons from the famous music composer Raad Khalaf, who agreed to help her after he was briefed on her works.
“I was publishing all my works on my Facebook account, so my followers suggested that I give online lessons…It was an adventure for me, but I decided to venture into it in 2019. Actually, I was surprised when I discovered the results I achieved through teaching music online were better than face-to-face teaching,” Mrs. Obied clarified.
She went on to say: “I have Arab students in Germany, US, Iraq, Egypt and Yemen; however, my students in India and Bangladesh speak English only and I teach them in English language.”
Moreover, the publishing of her works on her Facebook account motivated more than 17 mothers in Damascus to suggest she give face-to-face lessons to their children in Damascus city. Therefore, she opened a center in this city in 2020.
The good reputation she built through her honesty and hard work necessitates further development in her work although she has reached a high level. So last year, she contacted Julia Bushkova, professor of Violin at the university of North Texas and who works at the Central Music School in Moscow, to give her private lessons to develop herself and she did that.
Some of her students are now violin teachers and they are working at the college of music.
“In my centers, I receive students, who are at age 5 and above, after they take a test on promptitude, and I feel proud when my students become professional violinists,” she declared.
Mrs. Obied is a mother of 2 children, one of them, Tareq Obied, is studying flute in Germany and her daughter is studying Chemical Engineering in Homs.
She has formed the first team of violinists at the Arab level in her Al-Badeel Center in Masyaf, who can play oriental songs in a western way. My center in Mesyah holds a free concert every year.
Mrs. Obied has her imprint in the music field as she has worked on disseminating the culture of music in a professional way.
It is worthy to note that the violin, sometimes known as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use, according to Wikipedia
Interviewed by: Basma Qaddour