News

NewLands Festival celebrates an ‘Ode to Women’ with top musicians from East and West

29 August 2018

From Teheran to Toronto

From September 19 to 23, the third edition of NewLands Festival will take place in Amsterdam with the theme ‘Ode to Women’. Top musicians and artists from the East and West will create an interplay of musical cultures and perform with ensembles and repertoires specially composed for the festival. In addition, the festival once again offers a cultural immersion program. The program includes Holland Baroque & Layale Chaker, DJ Isis, Mahsa Vahdat, Nuria Rial, Dima Orsho and ‘Rima Kamel’ by Rabih Mroué.

NewLands Festival, formerly known as Morgenland Festival Amsterdam, once again provides a stage for ensembles of Eastern and Western musicians. This time, with ‘Ode to Women’, female musicians and composers from Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Spain and the Netherlands, among others, take center stage.

A different perspective on cultural labels
Mascha Ihwe, director: “NewLands is a meeting place for Arab, Persian and Western music culture and audiences. Artistic quality and curiosity about the peculiarities that each person brings from her or his cultural background are the basis of the collaborations that arise at NewLands. The festival offers a different perspective in times of cultural labels and clichés. For example, this edition the audience gets to know singer Rima Khcheich better in Rabih Mroué’s musical theater piece Rima Kamel and together with Words Become Senses we make visible the beauty of the Arabic and Persian language.”

Opening Concert
The festival opens with the Dutch premiere of the ‘Mother-Umm-Madre’ project at the Muziekgebouw. Two female world voices, Catalan soprano Nuria Rial and Syrian mezzo-soprano Dima Orsho sing about the powerful role of the mother throughout the centuries and cultures.

A few highlights of the program
Lebanese composer and violinist Layale Chaker performs with Holland Baroque and udv virtuoso Nizar Rohana with the repertoire ‘Moonchild: Songs from the Hindersea’ developed for the festival. At the Orgelpark, the Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat can be heard together with the Rembrandt Frerichs Trio and violin virtuoso Jasser Haj Youssef. Also returning is the Tessera Ensemble conducted by Tony Overwater and Naghmeh Farahmand, whose previous edition was rewarded with four stars by the Volkskrant.

Full line-up

  • Opening concert Mother-Umm-Madremet Nuria Rial & Dima Orsho
    19 September, 20:15 – 21:45, Muziekgebouw
  • Art of Duo with Rima Khcheich & Maarten Ornstein and Sara Hamidi & Mehdi Rostami
    20 September, 20:30 – 22:30, Bimhuis*
  • Dutch premiere ‘Rima Kamel’ by Rabih Mroué
    September 21, 18:30 – 20:45, OBA Theater
  • Layale Chaker & Holland Baroque
    September 21, 21:00 – 23:00, Bimhuis*
  • Tessera Ensemble conducted by Tony Overwater and Naghmeh Farahmand
    September 22, 20:30 – 22:30, Bimhuis*
  • Mahsa Vahdat & Rembrandt Frerichs Trio & Jasser Haj Youssef
    September 23, 14:15 – 16:00, Orgelpark
  • Words Become Sentences
    September 23, 19:30 – 21:30, Tolhuistuin (garden room)

* Prior to each concert at the Bimhuis, the audience has the opportunity to get to know the musicians and artists better during a Salon Joussour. It’s an intimate encounter in which one time we dive into the artistic process, the other time into Arabic poetry or a special instrument.

Visit the website for more information and follow NewLands Festival on Facebook and Instagram.

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