Naseer Shamma returns to UAE National Orchestra with bigger ambitions for the oud
When Naseer Shamma joined the UAE National Orchestra for its inaugural concert in January, the performance was a celebration of what the newly formed ensemble could become. Nine months later, the Iraqi oud virtuoso is returning to an orchestra with a full season and more than two dozen concerts across the emirates behind it, and a more ambitious programme ahead. At Friday's Harmony concert at NYU…
Naseer Shamma, one of the Arab world's most prominent oud players and educators, is returning to the UAE National Orchestra with a larger vision for the instrument. After performing with the orchestra during its inaugural concert in January, Shamma now sees the ensemble as having reached a new level of artistic depth. For his upcoming concert on Friday, October 16 at NYU Abu Dhabi's Arts Centre, Shamma will present four of his original compositions arranged for orchestra, including a concerto specifically for oud and orchestra.
Shamma, who has been instrumental in developing a range of ouds and composing for film, theater, and the oud, sees his collaboration with the orchestra as an extension of a four-decade journey of experimentation with the instrument's sound, design, and repertoire. He hopes to expand the oud's orchestra repertoire through an annual concerto composition, fostering a new generation of oud players to carry on this tradition.
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