Judged by a panel consisting of musicians from Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, among other states, two Israeli citizens took home the first and second prizes in an international music competition held recently in Cairo, Egypt. The results were announced this week.
The Israelis were awarded the honor for their performances on the oud (al-‘oud), a traditional Middle Eastern stringed instrument, from which the European lute was derived.
The prestigious competition, which has been held for the past forty years, draws musicians from throughout the Arab world. This year’s winners, a student and a graduate, respectively, of the Eastern Music Department of the Jerusalem Music Academy, were the first Israelis to have won the competition. They were competing against fourteen other ‘oud artists.
The first prize, including prize money worth about 5,000 shekels, was won by Darwish Darwish, from the village of Rama, a third-year student at the Jerusalem Academy, under the tutelage of Taysir Elias. Second prize, about 3,000 shekels, was won by Academy graduate Wasim Oudah of Nazareth.
The Israelis were awarded the honor for their performances on the oud (al-‘oud), a traditional Middle Eastern stringed instrument, from which the European lute was derived.
The prestigious competition, which has been held for the past forty years, draws musicians from throughout the Arab world. This year’s winners, a student and a graduate, respectively, of the Eastern Music Department of the Jerusalem Music Academy, were the first Israelis to have won the competition. They were competing against fourteen other ‘oud artists.
The first prize, including prize money worth about 5,000 shekels, was won by Darwish Darwish, from the village of Rama, a third-year student at the Jerusalem Academy, under the tutelage of Taysir Elias. Second prize, about 3,000 shekels, was won by Academy graduate Wasim Oudah of Nazareth.