The South Shore Orchestra and Music Director Troy Webdell will honor Egyptian-born composer Halim El-Dabh in their first performance of their 2011 GLOBAL EXPRESSIONS concert season. El-Dabh will be in attendance where he will also be presented with a lifetime achievement award from the organization for his contributions to the world of music. El-Dabh’s music is considered the symbol for the Egyptian Classical sound as Aaron Copeland, his former teacher, is known for the sound of the American Classic.
“FOOTPRINTS in the SAND” will feature music from throughout El-Dabhʼs composing career including music he created for the Giza Pyramidʼs Sound and Light Show and Martha Grahamʼs ballet Clytemnestra. According to El-Dabh, his music is “inspired from the heart of cultures in Africa and Asia”. Webdell further describes it as a blend of contemporary mixed with ancient culture.
El-Dabh was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1921 and began his first career working in Egyptian Agriculture. He has spent a large part of his life studying folk music around the world and from 1974-1981 El-Dabh was the cultural and ethno-musicological consultant to the Smithsonian Institution's Folklife Programs. He is currently University Professor Emeritus of African Ethnomusicology at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
Conductor Troy Webdell shares “It has been an honor to get to know Halim and I look forward to sharing his exciting music with our American audiences.” Other music featured will be Scheherazade by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, which animates the musical tale of 1001 Arabian Knights.
The concert will be Friday, June 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the Valparaiso University Center for the Arts Theater located at 1709 Chapel Drive, Valparaiso, IN 46383. Admission at the door is $15 for adults and $10 for senior adults and students with ID. Tickets are also available from performers and Pikk’s Tavern where concert goers will also receive 10% off their pre-concert dinner that evening. Pikk’s Tavern, a Chicago-style steak house is located in downtown Vaparaiso, on Lincolnway. After the concert, Pikk's Tavern will host a free dessert reception with desserts courtesy of Blackbird Cafe of Valparaiso, IN to continue the celebration of the honored composer.
South Shore Orchestra is a group with a mission—to orchestrate a musical community—bringing performers and audiences together through the diversity and richness of music. Besides enabling professional and community musicians the opportunities for concert and chamber performances, they also sponsor a growing youth symphony, a $2500 college scholarship and charitable support to local organizations. In its brief 7 year history it has grown to over 60 performers from the South Shore communities of NW Indiana. They are headquartered in Valparaiso, IN. In December 2011 - January 2012, Maestro Webdell will lead SSO in their 2nd tour of China as guests of the Confucius Institute (Beijing) and Zhejiang Guohua Performance Art Company Ltd.. Visit www.southshoreorchestra.com and www.halimeldabh.com for more information.