The United States Embassy in Cairo will present its American Music Abroad concert, titled Al Hakawatiya, on 28 February at the Cairo Citadel and on 3 March at Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The concert will bring together American jazz musician Chelsey Green and her band the Green Project, and Egyptian independent musician Dina El Wedidi. The event is produced by Grammy Award-winning Egyptian musician Fathy Salama. The two performers are well-known for their unique and contemporary approach to their respective national musical heritages. Born in Houston, Texas into a family of jazz and funk musicians, Chelsey Green began her career as a violinist at the age of five. After initially studying classical music in the Houston public school system, she received a scholarship for classical viola studies at the University of Texas, Austin, from which she graduated. She then pursued a Master's Degree in Viola Performance at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, before obtaining a doctorate from the University of Maryland, College Park. In April 2012, her band, The Green Project, released their debut album “Still Green: The EP.” The band's innovative blend of violin and viola with traditional techniques from genres such as jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop and R&B, was met with great critical acclaim. Green and her band are devoted to spreading their love of music to younger generations, and work with students from all backgrounds to educate them musically. Egyptian singer and musician Dina El Wedidi studied Oriental Languages at Cairo University. During her studies, she joined El Warsha Theatre Troupe, where she learned to sing a variety of traditional genres. With the help of her tutor Maged Soliman, she began to explore her vocal potential and engaged in numerous workshops with independent musicians from Egypt and elsewhere, including Fathy Salama and singer-songwriter Kamilya Jubran. In 2013, she took part in the Nile Project, a musical and environmental initiative that brings together musicians and thinkers from the Nile Valley. She also received the Rolex Arts initiative for promising international artists award, which gave her the opportunity to be mentored for a year by prominent Brazilian singer Gilberto Gil. El-Wedidi has recently become the lead performer of an ensemble fusing local and global styles of music, which she describes as a “growing project” and who have performed extensively in the past two years. 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
