Sharjah choir Nassim Al Saba to travel globe

Abu Dhabi: After a stellar performance at New York’s historic Carnegie Hall, Sharjah-based singing choir, Nassim Al Saba is ready to take the music scene by storm, and is indeed, preparing for more local and international performances.

The homegrown talent of 17 singers and three instrumentalists is the only Arabic choir in the Gulf region with four-piece harmony as it includes singers of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass vocal ranges.

Originating from the American University of Sharjah (AUS), the choir currently combines students and alumni. Conductor and Artistic Director of Nassim Al Saba, Professor John Perkins was the puppet master as he helped put the choir together in the year 2010 with the aim of sharing Arabic heritage.

“There was a request to sing Arabic music in 2008 when I first joined AUS so I made a couple of arrangements in the first year and by 2010, the enthusiasm of students was the drive behind creating the choir,” Perkins told Gulf News. “They wanted to connect culture and they just had a general love for music.”

With that aim in mind, Nassim Al Saba is spreading its song around the world that music is indeed, a universal language. Apart from concerts across the UAE, the choir has already performed in Indonesia, Jordan, and most recently, New York.

With an audience comprised of mostly westerners, Nassim Al Saba’s concerts in various venues across Manhattan, were met by an “overwhelmingly positive reaction”, as Perkins described it.

With popular songs such as El Helwa Di, Tala’a Min Bayt Abouha, Fairouz’sEl Bent El Shalabeyya, and many others, the choice of songs falls upon Perkins who tries to voice Arab style and tradition.

He explained that there is already a limited repertoire for four-part Arabic songs and that he has had to make the music polyphonic – having more than one melody.

Choir member and bass singer, Fahmi Abou Fool officially joined Nassim Al Saba last January and has been enjoying the confidence boost of singing to an audience.

“I never ever thought I was able to sing and then a friend told me about the auditions for the choir, and I thought why not give it a try,” Abou Fool recalled.

Now a mechanical engineering senior student, Abou Fool is considering singing professionally after the great response from various concerts.

“People ask us for new songs every time we perform, and at our New York concert, I could see people dancing in their seats, or with their eyes closed, and with a nice smile on their faces,” he noted.

Choir mate, and alto singer, Eisar Al Khalifa joined the choir a year and a half ago when she was a senior at university and even after graduation, she has decided to remain in the choir.

“Singing with the choir is the one thing to take me away from work stress and I feel relieved at our rehearsals,” Al Khalifa said.

She added that she has enjoyed sharing music with international audiences who were able to get beyond the language barrier.

Nassim Al Saba’s upcoming performances are scheduled for 14 May and 15 May at AUS, and are open to the public. The choir is also set to perform in Qatar in June 2013.

Sarah Diaa is an intern at Gulf News.