The National Arab Music Ensemble

The National Arab Music Ensemble was founded with the goal of reviving the classical Arab music heritage. The National Cultural Centre “Cairo Opera House” established the ensemble in 1989 and put it under the supervision of Dr. Ratiba El-Hefny and the directorship of Maestro Selim Sahab.

The main objective of the National Arab Music Ensemble is to collect the musical heritage from different Arab nations and present it in an academic context.

Soloists from different Arab countries performed with the ensemble. Among them were famous Arab singers like Wadee El Safy, Soad Mohamed, Soad Mekkawy, Somaya Kaysar and Lotfy Boshnak. The ensemble consists of about 100 musicians and singers.

Due to its exceptional style, the National Arab Music Ensemble earned national and international acclaim. In its first year, the ensemble was awarded the Gold Medal and its conductor the Silver Medal at the Babylon Music Festival.

The Ensemble participated in many festivals and celebrations such as the Carthage Festival (Tunisia 1990), the Kuwaiti National Independence Day (1991), El Rabat Festival (1993), Sour Festival (Lebanon 1997), El Kareen Festival (Kuwait 1997), Shopping Festival (Dubai 1998), El Mahaba Festival (Syria 1998), the Egyptian-American Friendship Association Concert (USA 1998), the Egyptian-Tunisian Cultural Week (Tunisia 2001), Umm Kulthum’s Centennial Celebration (Paris 2001) and El Rabat Festival ( Morocco 2001).