Naseer Shamma Returns to UAE National Orchestra with Grander Vision for the Oud

Nine months after its inaugural performance, the UAE National Orchestra is set to welcome back Iraqi oud virtuoso Naseer Shamma for a more ambitious season. Shamma, who performed with the ensemble at its inception, will feature in Friday's Harmony concert at NYU Abu Dhabi's Arts Centre, presenting four of his compositions in new orchestral arrangements, including a dedicated concerto for oud and orchestra.

"The first concert was different. It was a celebration. We were saying, here we are, we are together. But now we have a concrete programme. We have something much deeper, with different pieces," Shamma told The National. He noted the orchestra's significant growth: "I think the orchestra is clearly at another level now compared with the first concert. The first show was very good, and if you notice, each concert since then has been about going deeper and finding new forms of creative expression. I am so glad to be part of that journey."

This collaboration marks a continuation of Shamma's nearly four-decade-long exploration of the oud's sound, design, and repertoire. A prominent figure in the Arab world for his work as an oud player and educator, Shamma has pioneered a family of ouds across different musical registers, composed for film and theatre, and established Bait Al Oud in Cairo, with subsequent branches in Abu Dhabi, Alexandria, and Baghdad.

His interest in orchestral music inspired by the oud is not new; he previously led a 70-member Eastern Orchestra at the Abu Dhabi Festival in 2008. The upcoming Harmony concert will feature his Concerto for Oud and Orchestra, a piece developed through extensive rehearsals and discussions with the orchestra's musicians. Shamma described it as the ideal concerto for this occasion, stating, "I hope it will be a good work because we have taken time with the composition, with rehearsals and with discussing the ideas with different musicians. Now I think it is ready to be presented on stage with the orchestra."

Shamma also acknowledged the legacy of Arab composers like Iraqi oud musician Jamil Bashir, who incorporated the oud into orchestral settings. Shamma aims to enrich the repertoire for future oud players, expressing, "For that reason, I think it is time to compose differently. To compose one concerto every year would be great, because this would create a repertoire for other musicians who come after us." He emphasized the unique perspective he brings as an oud player composing for the instrument: "When I compose something for the oud as an oud soloist myself, it will be different from what another composer writes. Because that composer may only be a composer, not an oud player."

Balancing the oud's distinctive sound within a symphony orchestra requires careful consideration. "I think the oud has its own special characteristics. Its sound, its power, its chords, its quarter-tones and many other things," Shamma explained. He stressed the importance of preserving the oud's identity in contemporary arrangements: "We have to preserve the oud's identity. Not in a traditional way but in a contemporary way. It must remain an oud in the middle of the orchestra."

Shamma's connection with the orchestra has deepened through his interactions with its musicians. He recalled their initial curiosity about his oud and playing style during January's rehearsals, which fostered a strong rapport. "It was a beautiful experience. I felt that we had covered a great distance through a single piece of music. It is a distance that might take two years to cover in ordinary life, just to create a friendship. But we achieved it through one piece lasting eight minutes."

Furthermore, Shamma's role in nurturing local talent through Bait Al Oud in Abu Dhabi has created a synergistic relationship with the orchestra. "When I established it in Cairo in 1998, and then the second in Abu Dhabi in 2007, I had a clear idea that one day the UAE would need professional musicians. So I began preparing these musicians," he said. Several Emirati musicians trained at Bait Al Oud are now part of the UAE National Orchestra, leading to a collaborative dynamic: "So this is a collaboration. We complement one another. We complete one another's projects. We are working to become bridges that lead to the other side, to professional music."

The Harmony concert by the UAE National Orchestra featuring Naseer Shamma is scheduled for Friday, October 16, at 8 pm at The Arts Centre, NYU Abu Dhabi. Tickets start from Dh100.