Wajde Ayub Comes to Roulette

The renowned Wajde Ayub, born in Aleppo, is a classically trained Syrian mutrib (principal vocalist) who has been acclaimed for his exquisite and commanding renderings of the repertoire of Aleppo, one of the great cultural centers of the Middle East; wasla, a musical suite that incorporates composed and improvised parts; and muwashahat, sung poetry. Since immigrating to the US in 2017, he has been a leading proponent of Syrian vocal music here. He is dedicated to maintaining the ancient musical traditions of Syria - traditions that have been put in danger by the civil war that has devastated the country. His performances, which include layali (melismatic vocalizations) and mawwal (unmetered song), are reminiscent of those of his mentor, the great Sabah Fakhri, and resonate with the musical ecstasy known as tarab, a heightened state of emotion similar to duende in flamenco. His ensemble is composed of a chorus and instrumentalists on oud (lute), violins, cello, nay (flute), qanun (zither), bass, and percussion who are highly regarded in the field of Middle Eastern music in the US.

Wajde Ayub, who began to sing and play the oud at an early age, performed for more than 25 years with many of the major musical figures of Aleppo. In addition to concertizing in the Middle East, he has toured Europe, Latin America and the US. He was trained to memorize dozens of classic Arabic compositions, which he recites and improvises during a concert.

Ensemble:

Zafir Tawil, oud

Michael Abdullah, violin

Insia Malik, violin

Khaled Khalifa, cello

Naeif Rafeh, nay

Jamal Sinno, qanun

John Murchison, bass

Johnny Farraj, riqq (small frame drum)

Mahmoud Kamil, tabla (goblet-shaped drum)

Mohammad Almassri, katim (large frame drum)

Zahra Alzubaidi, chorus

Khadidja Guendil, chorus

Nesma Mohamed, chorus

Made possible in part with public funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State legislature.

Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue at 3rd Avenue, Downtown Brooklyn

Tickets: $30; students, seniors $26 Box office 917-267-0363

Info & tickets: https://www.robertbrowningassociates.com/19-20-wajde.htm

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