Q Life Magazine Q Magazine December 2016 | Page 63
Beyond the Museums |
Working in Concert
The Qatar Philharmonic
Orchestra
performances include the United
Nations General Assembly, the 50th
anniversary of OPEC at the Vienna
Konzerthaus, and the opening of the
Katara Cultural Village Amphitheatre
with music by Vangelis and the voices
of Angela Gheorgiu and Roberto
Alagna.
On the Road While the Philharmonic sows the
seeds of symphonic music in the Arab
region, it also provides a platform for
music from around the globe. World
premieres have included Marcel
Khalifé’s Symphony of Return, Jean-
Charles Gandrille’s Violin Concerto,
Abdalla El Masri’s Oud Concerto,
Rami Khalifé’s Chaos for Piano and
Orchestra, and Requiem and Houtaf
Khoury’s Angel of Light Piano
Concerto.
Touring performances have taken
the orchestra from Doha to the
Royal Albert Hall in London, the
Syrian Opera House in Damascus,
the Kennedy Centre in Washington,
D.C., and beyond. Other notable The Philharmonic is a member of
Qatar Foundation, which supports
Qatar on its journey from a carbon
economy to a knowledge-based
economy by unlocking human
potential.
| T he Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra perform at the Museum of Islamic Art during the 2009 Doha Tribeca Film
Festival
H
er Highness Sheikha Moza bint
Nasser Al Missned founded
the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra
in 2007. Its goal: to perform and
promote Western and Arab music
that would inspire the children and
adults of Qatar and the Arab world
to create and enjoy music.
The 101-member orchestra held
its inaugural concert, conducted by
Lorin Maazel, on 30 October, 2008.
Since then, the Qatar Philharmonic
has grown to offer some 40
programmes a year at its home in
the Katara Opera House, which
opened with the world premiere of
Marcel Khalifé’s Rababa Concerto
in December 2010.
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