Renowned Iraqi oud player Naseer Shamma performs at CCP

MANILA, Philippines - Iraqi musician Naseer Shamma, one of the most esteemed and prolific oud players today, will be in Manila for a concert on Dec. 3, 7 p.m. at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The concert titled, “An Oud Concert: The Spirit of Naseer Shamma,” is a presentation of the CCP, the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq and The Spouses of Head of Mission.

The oud is an Arabian folk instrument, an ancestor of the guitar and parent of the European lute. Its name comes from the word al`ud, which means “tree.” The oud is central to medieval and modern Islamic music.

Naseer Shamma was born in 1963 in Al-kut, a southern city in Iraq. He studied at Baghdad’s Institute of Music and, in 1987, received a diploma in musical art. Later, he specialized in the oud. Since he started his professional career, Shamma has been composing his own music. Giving concerts in various parts of the world has become his main concern. In addition to holding concerts, Shamma is currently director of the Beit Al-Oud Al-Arabi at Al-Harawi-Cairo, which he founded 1998.

Shamma performs on the oud in a manner that combines ancient methods with his own original modern compositions. Naseer Shamma is the only musician to have constructed an eight-string oud or lute following the manuscript of the famous 9th century music theorist Al-Farabi. This new design (eight, instead of six strings) expanded the musical range of the oud and gave it a distinct tonality. His innovations go beyond that include a new method of playing the oud using one hand.

For information, call the CCP Box Office at 832-3704 and 832-3706, Ticketworld at 891-9999, or visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.