Beyond Words (live show, orchestra, vocalist, oud)
Overview
Programme
Arvo Pärt Silouan's Song
John Psathas, Oum, Kyriakos Tapakis Ahlan wa Sahlan
Interval
Rimsky-Korsakov Sheherezade
We offer an expression of peace and unity through music.
Haere mai and ahlan wa sahlan to a very special concert. Tomark the 5th anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks, we present aunique collaboration promoting peace and unity through music.
Conducted by Fawzi Haimor, featuring powerful Moroccan vocalist OUM and oud virtuoso Kyriakos Tapakis, we offer a program of Arvo Pärt, a new work from Aotearoa New Zealand composer John Psathas, and RimskyKorsakov.
Psathas’ Ahlan wa Sahlan, composed incollaboration with OUM and Tapakis, uses the Arabic welcome to let people know they are in a place where they belong. Finding inspiration in a quote promotingpeace, love and forgiveness from Mosque attack survivor Farid Ahmed’smemoir Husna's Story, Psathas, OUM and Tapakis have fused together musical styles from Eastern and Western cultures in Ahlan wa Sahlan.
This work was created with guidance from The Central IqraTrust and Muslim communities from across Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Orchestra also plays Arvo Pärt’s spiritual and meditative work Silouan’s Song.
Beyond Words is a symphonic expression of peace and unity. Let us take you on this journey beyond borders and beyond words.
Additional Programming Options
OUM arr. Tom McLeod Daba
Kyriakos Tapakis arr. Tom McLeod Mantilatos
Ahlan wa Sahlan! We welcome you to this unique experience featuring a collaborative composition by John Psathas, OUM, and Kyriakos Tapakis. Commissioned by The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with The Central Iqra Trust and Muslim communities in New Zealand, this unique work, celebrates Islam's core message of peace, offering a secular gesture of solidarity with Muslim communities all over the world. Conducted by Fawzi Haimor, Ahlan wa Sahlan integrates the Oud, a fretless stringed instrument in Middle Eastern culture, and showcases OUM's fusion of traditional Moroccan music with a little bit of jazz, gospel, and soul. This symphonic endeavor emerged from deep conversations with the New Zealand Muslim community since 2022, culminating in a composition that not only honors the richness of New Zealand's Muslim cultures but also acknowledges the resilience forged in the wake of adversity from the horrific Christchurch Mosque attacks on March 15, 2019. Lasting approximately 30 minutes, Ahlan wa Sahlan when paired with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade takes audiences through a transformative musical journey across North Africa and the Middle East in a multi-cultural program celebrating diversity and unity.
From genre-crossing projects with jazz legends Michael Brecker and Joshua Red man, to an e-book scoring collaboration with Salman Rushdie, from a recording session with the Grand Mufti in Paris's Grand Mosque, to a Billboard classical-chart-topping album with System of a Down front man Serj Tankian, Psathas's musical journey weaves through myriad of genres, and has moved concert audiences in more than 50 countries on all 7 continents (evenAntarctica).
His music emerges from a dazzling 21st century backdrop, where dynamic collaboration with creative masters from all corners of the physical and artistic globe result in outcomes that are visionary, moving, and inspired.
Originally from Casablanca, Oum El Ghaït Ben Essahraoui switched from architecture to music, aligning with Morocco's urban Nayda movement. Her early albums, "Lik’Oum" (2009) and "Sweerty" (2012), exclusively released in Morocco, established her stardom. Pivoting to writing lyrics in Darija, Moroccan Arabic, she explored new musical textures and poetic expressions. Her international breakthrough came with "Soul of Morocco" (2013), merging traditional and modern elements, which resonated with European audiences. Her subsequent album, "Zarabi" (2015), recorded near the Sahara, focused on nature and traditional cultures. In 2019, "Daba" marked another milestone; produced with Palestinian artist Kamilya Jubran in Berlin, it blended atmospheric sounds with danceable beats, reflecting themes of humanism, feminism, and spirituality. Oum continues to fuse diverse influences, seeking to create music that transcends cultural barriers and offers hope.
Kyriakos Tapakis, an alumnus of Palini's musical junior high and high schools in Athens, Greece, studied oud under noted tutors including Antonis Apergis and Katerina Papadopoulou, and attended masterclasses with celebrated musicians like Necati Celik, Simon Shaheen, and Charbel Rouhana.
He has taught at Thessaloniki's musical high school, various musical schools, the University of Macedonia, and the Technological Educational Institute of Epirus. Tapakis has also been a session musician and performed live with notable artists such as Sokratis Sinopoulos, Petroloukas Chalkias, and Alkinoos Ioannidis, and participated in musical workshops in Agios Lavrentios.
Currently, he is active in the music scene, creating and performing with bands like Notio Toxo, Loxandra, and the Michalis Kondaxakis Quartet.
