Dubai: Expo 2020 Dubai on Saturday announced a “world class” music recording studio, which will include ‘The Firdaus Women’s Orchestra’ led by renowned Bollywood and Hollywood composer and songwriter AR Rahman.
The studio will become a permanent facility as part of Expo 2020 Dubai’s “legacy plans” in the future city of District 2020 – and the first project to make use of the studio will be the Firdaus all-female orchestra.
Firdaus, which means ‘Paradise’ in Arabic, will be led by AR Rahman, who will mentor the musicians and compose music for the orchestra’s inaugural performance, as well as putting his name to the new studio.
The Firdaus Studio by AR Rahman and the orchestra are both part of plans to push Dubai and the UAE as an international hub for music recording and score production.
The orchestra will bring together 50 women musicians from across the UAE and wider Mena region to create a musical project that will benefit from the facility, which will serve as the orchestra’s rehearsal base.
The orchestra will feature women of a variety of ages and backgrounds, and will draw on inspiration from the UAE and region’s centuries-old musical traditions that have used instruments such as the oud, rebaba and darbuka.
It will perform music of “a top-class international standard” on the global stage of Expo 2020, including two AR Rahman concerts, a special show for International Women’s Day on March 8, 2021, plus a number of other events and performances across the site.
Marjan Faraidooni, Chief Pavilions and Exhibitions Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “The Firdaus Studio by AR Rahman and the Firdaus Women’s Orchestra are both inspiring projects that will be responsible for so much creativity in the run-up to Expo 2020, during the event, and for many years afterwards. Music brings the world together – this project is doing that in every sense, and is a true celebration of Expo 2020’s theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.”
The studio and orchestra will both benefit from Rahman’s decades of experience in the music business in Bollywood, Hollywood and beyond, during which he has won numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards (Oscars) and two Grammy Awards.
Rahman is perhaps most famous for his soundtrack to hit movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, after rising to prominence thanks to his fusion of traditional orchestra arrangements and modern music, becoming one of India’s best-selling recording artists.
AR Rahman said: “This world-leading studio will attract the cream of the industry to Dubai. Working with the most exciting female musical talents of the region, the Firdaus Women’s Orchestra will enable Dubai to become a focal point for making ground-breaking new music, and I look forward to being part of that.”
Only half will make the grade
A total of 100 women will be chosen for face-to-face auditions in Dubai, with 50 selected for a role in the orchestra. Rehearsals will begin in summer 2020, and those selected will be based in Dubai for the duration of Expo 2020.
Expo 2020 Dubai, which runs from October 20, 2020, to April 10, 2021, will be the first World Expo and largest event ever to be held in the region.
Female musicians from intermediate to semi-professional level are invited to apply for the Firdaus Women’s Orchestra by submitting a video audition via https://www.expo2020dubai.com/en/discover/attractions/firdaus-orchestra, which also contains full criteria and information for applications.
