In 2019, I started a new phase of my career as a soloist with orchestras and ensembles in Egypt. I performed a lot at all the great concert halls in Egypt from the Cairo Opera House, El Sawy Culture wheel, to Italian Theater in Alexandria(the Woody Allen’s Purple Rose was filmed here), it was all splendid experiences!
Today I will focus on one of my favorite ensembles, El Manara ensemble in Cairo as they are a hidden gem in Cairo.
Backstage of El Manara Ensemble. Everybody came to help me..
El Manara ensemble performs music from the Golden Age in a theater in Nassa city, Cairo. Their concerts are free to the public. The members of this ensemble are all killer gangstars such as the accordion player, Farouk Mohammed, a qanun player whose grandfather was also a qanun player in Umm Kulthum band( but not sure which one exactly), and violinists from Cairo Opera House etc.
Since they have been posting the videos from their concerts on YouTube for more than a decade, a lot of people around the world have watched their videos, but no one seemed to know where the concert takes place.
I reached out to the manager of the ensemble one time and he invited me to a smaller salon they host. I showed up there and was asked to play the violin… Then, the rest is history… I became a regular soloist.
The musicians, managers, owners and other people in this organization are very kind, respectful and HONEST(the last one by the way, it’s not always the case, so worth the statement. If you’ve read the post about Egypt. you’ll understand what I mean.)
The musicians are always wanting to help me getting better on Arabic music. They are very curious to see how a Japanese plays Arabic music and always come to help me in the backstage and outside of the theater. I always feel Egyptians keep the child-like spirit and express their curiosity and affinity to the max. (There’s no such thing as growing up perhaps…I mean in a good and loving way. In this case it’s a great thing for me, but when it’s on the street, it’s a different story…)
The theater is very small and intimate, so you can really feel the power of their performance. In my experience, it’s much better than going to the shows at the Opera Houses(one in Cairo and the other in Alexandria) Somehow I never really felt so moved by whatever I saw at the Opera Houses, but I absolutely love watching El Manara ensemble after I finished playing my pieces. They are much more intimate and alive.
I highly recommend checking them out if you are in Cairo.
In all of my experiences in Egypt so far, it is absolutely the best place for the traditional music!
Here are some of the videos of me with El Manara Ensemble
Hobbi Eh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8vm-me_tSg&list=PLuxstqVqSfeCXUa_13zeXads6q7NtH5PX&index=2
Enta Omri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlGvMux6W5w&list=PLuxstqVqSfeCXUa_13zeXads6q7NtH5PX&index=5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCdzSVrKfVQ
Ansak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PuwFWtUSdk&list=PLuxstqVqSfeCXUa_13zeXads6q7NtH5PX&index=3
Ya Salam Aka Hoby We Hobak (duet with Ala Kaman)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8enfkxsboI&list=PLuxstqVqSfeCXUa_13zeXads6q7NtH5PX&index
