One day when I was at the Culture Wheel center to see the bazaar there, I found out that they were having two shows the same evening, at the same time, but in separate auditoriums. I decided to attend the visiting band from Germany, so I got my ticket, but landed in the wrong show! Furthermore, it was a newly-formed Egyptian band. A bit disappointed, I decided to stick around for a while before returning home. Boy, was I surprised! I stayed till the very end – to the tune of the standing ovation! Not only did I did I ‘stick around', but I also met the director of the Culture Wheel Mr. Mohamed El-Sawy for the first time, and congratulated him for his ‘new baby', the “Sakia String Orchestra”. After the concert, the Director of the Culture Wheel (known also in Arabic as the Sakia, which means ‘water wheel) also took the stage and made a speech of appreciation. Luckily I grabbed the moment and made an appointment with him to talk about his new orchestra. • What made you think about making an orchestra in the first place and why was it necessary? Nobody thought about it before… Because I think that Egypt needs to cover the country's thirst for attainable culture and refined music, as well as collect qualified musicians in one place and promote their talents. • How did you combine, collect the Sawy String Orchestra? About a year ago, I thought about forming an orchestra that would play regularly and start attracting a young audience to the culture center, and was told about a good and serious young man, who is the conductor Mohamed Saad Basha. When I met him, I felt how serious and how honest he is and discussed this project with him. We then selected many very fine musicians and combined the orchestra, which was launched as you know today, the 19th of October. • Did you hear him play or see him conduct before? No, but I asked around and was confident with the selection of musicians. But we spent about six months only talking about what we can do and making the right papers and contracts that we would need. • But this is a ‘string' orchestra, and its type of music is a bit limited. We thought about adding gradually more musicians with different instruments, and even adding a singing choir, especially for the forthcoming Xmas carols and songs. We are doing beautiful things for Xmas, insha Allah. We need a brass section – but that doesn't mean for every concert, only for special events – so for the moment we can hire them per event, or whenever we need them. • How long did they practice to have such a successful outcome for their inaugural concert? At least 13 rehearsals; each rehearsal lasted over at least three hours. These young musicians are very good young people, and they worked hard. • I attended the concert, and was truly impressed by their professionalism. The Conductor Mohamed Saad Basha and the First Solo Violinist, Mohamed Raouf, in my opinion, were fantastic. Yes, and we will keep on using this orchestra, because Egypt needs it. • The impression I have of you through my research, is that not only are you an important culture and social promoter aiming mainly at our youth, but also an altruistic humanitarian icon in Egypt. Alhamdullillah. If you don't collect these talented young musicians in one respectable place, they would have had no alternative but to join a cabaret's band with belly dancers, and so forth. • I have heard the Philharmonic and Symphony orchestras of the Opera, and believe me, they are equal to them. Thank you. Yes, I was told the same thing by many spectators who attended the concert. • In fact, I personally thought they were even better. You know how you can tell? The violinists had their ‘bows' synchronized and aligned; perfectly together with not one up and the other down, like we see at other orchestras. To reach that level of perfection, it must have taken hours of training and practice. We also have started another line, called ‘Sakia Opera'. We have a pianist and about one or two singers, but previously interviewed many singers to see if they had basic and right opera training. They will be hired to perform on special occasions. • About the conductor, does he also play an instrument? I can't confirm that, but I know that Mohamed Saad Basha is writing the music notes of the concerts. • Where did he learn or get his training? I'm sure at the ‘conservatoire', like most of the authentic musicians. • Is it true that you had a fantastic shows for last Christmas and New Year's Eve, with the String Orchestra? El-Masreyeen Band led by Hani Shnouda had a show just before them, in commemoration of our great poet Salah Jahine, on November 20th. But our new ‘Sakia String Orchestra' performed for the second time, on 30th November. For Christmas or Christmas Eve, we had a choir to sing Xmas carols. As for the New Year's Eve event, we had one of our favourite musicians, Naseer Shamma, our regular Iraqi ‘oud' player, with his own group of 25 musicians. They performed until midnight. After midnight, we had another show by a group of percussionists at the riverside, with near-free food stands. • How much did it cost to attend the New Year's Eve events? For Naseer Shamma, tickets cost LE 60, and for the other group after midnight, tickets sold also for only LE 60. In other words, there were two shows, and our guests chose to attend either one of them, or even both. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ h.n.
