For one week, between 12 and 17 February, Egyptian musicians from the European Egyptian Contemporary Society will work with young talents from the UK under the umbrella of the Aldeburgh Young Musicians (AYM) programme. The workshops are paralleled by Brass Camp, held at the Snape Maltings on the Suffolk coast in the United Kingdom. The Snape Maltings is an art complex, which buildings housed renowned Bitish composer Benjamin Britten's home, studio and a concert hall. The 'Aldeburgh Young Musicians: Egypt' programme allows young participants to benefit from the expertise of qanun player Saber Abdel Sattar, percussionist Nesma Abdel Aziz, violinist Hossam Shehata, nai player Hany El-Badry, composers Rosilla Adel and Bahaa Ansary as well as two British musicians, Tom Coult and Jan Hendrickse. The series of workshop helps the young musicians to widen their musical horizons by exploring new musical formats and rhythms, inviting them into a creative improvisation. The Egyptian tutors infuse their exercises with music components from the Arabic classical music. The tutoring offered by the Egyptian musicians reflects the European-Egyptian Contemporary Music Society's cross-cultural focus that forms vibrant artistic bridges “between the European contemporary music and traditional Arabic idioms.” The workshops will conclude with Open Session: Aldeburgh Young Musicians, held at the Snape Maltings Concert Hall (also known as Aldeburgh Concert Hall), an edifice build by Britten. Nesma Abdel Aziz at the Snape Maltings (Photo: Ati Metwaly) Aldeburgh Young Musicians aims at discovering and supporting exceptional talents through a series of workshops, residencies, professional coaching and advice. The programme is focused on instrumentalists, vocalists and composers aged 8-18. Selected on an annual basis through the series of auditions, today around 60 young musicians benefit under the AYM umbrella. “Each AYM develops their own individually-tailored pathway to become the creative and diverse professionals of tomorrow,” reads the Snape Maltings' website. AYM is one of the several programmes offered by the Snape Maltings company. Following Britten's belief that music should be accessible to everyone and that it should serve the community, the company focuses on outreach to the community at large, including the differently-abled, the elderly, and prison inmates. Bahaa Ansary at the Snape Maltings (Photo: Ati Metwaly) For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
