SUAL Archives | 2011
Amr Okba: Solo for Harp for harp solo
Duration: 7‘03“
Type: Recorded live at SUAL 2011
Credits: Audio recording by JF, editing by BG
Solo for Harp
A tranquil dialogue with the inner voice…
[Amr Okba]
Amr Okba
Amr Okba is an Egyptian Austrian composer born in 1972. He started his musical education with piano and music theory lessons at the Institute of Arabic Music and Faculty of Music Education. He joined the Cairo Conservatoire (Department of Composition and Conducting), where he graduated with distinction. In 1998, Amr obtained his Bachelor in Composition, and short after he was awarded with the Rome Prize-State Prize for Artistic Creation (Composition), which allowed him to spend one year and a half in Italy. In 2003, through the Egyptian-Austrian Cultural Exchange Programme (ÖAD), Amr obtained a scholarship that allowed him to continue with his musical career. In Austria, he studied Composition at both „Mozarteum Universität Salzburg“ and „Wien Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst“ with Reinhard Febel (Composition) and with Dieter Kaufmann (Electronic and Experimental Composition). In 2006, Amr premiered his first Opera, „The book of going forth by day“, which was commissioned by „Musik der Jahrhunderte“, for the ISCM opening concert in Stuttgart. This brought him international recognition, followed by a series of engagements, projects, commissions and concerts with prestigious festivals and organizations, such as „Salzburg Biennale“ and „Bregenzer Festspiele“. In 2008, Amr obtained the Austrian State Stipend for Composition, and in 2009, the Salzburg Annual Stipend for Music. Amr’s music was performed by several prestigious Orchestras and Ensembles such as Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (Conductor, Lukas Vis), Mozarteum University Orchestra (Conductor, Dennis Russell Davies), The BBC Symphony Orchestra, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Collage Ensemble, OENM Ensemble (Conductor, Johannes Kalitzke, Arturo Tamayo), the composer Ensemble, and London Sinfonietta (Conductor: Diego Masson – Queen Elizabeth Hall). Amr’s music has also been broadcasted by several European Radio stations such as SWR (Germany), ORF/Ö1 (Austria), Radio Classica (Spain) and Radio Denmark.
[info as of 12/2011]