International Carthage Festival

The “Orient Night” project is conceived as a multicultural concert organized between artists from five countries of the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa, including notably Azerbaijan, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia. This concert, on the initiative of the management of the Carthage International Music Festival, was organized thanks to the support of Mr. Saoud Alan, Director of the company Maqam Productions (Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon). The Tunisian Symphony Orchestra (OST) as well as the SAFPEM Institute (“Middle East and Europe Specified Institute of Contemporary Arts”, a cultural organization based in France and Canada) also contributed to the implementation of this project.
The guest artists of this evening are Alim Qasimov (Grand Master of the Azerbaijani Muqam, winner of the UNESCO IMC Prize in 1999 as well as the Grammy Prize with the Silk Road musical ensemble founded by Yo-Yo Ma, great world-renowned cellist) , Zaki Valiyev (Azerbaijani Tar soloist and member of the Alim Qasimov ensemble), Macadi Nahhas (one of the greatest singer of Jordanian Sufism), Shoayb Shahabi (Iranian singer), Ziad Al Ahmadie (Lebanese Oud soloist) ), Pourya Ghorbani (specialist in electronic music in Iran) and Saeed Khavar Nejad (composer and virtuoso of Persian Kamancheh). Members of the Tunisian Symphony Orchestra conducted by the great Tunisian conductor Mohamed Bouslamah will also perform during this concert with the guest artists.
The concert program will consist of three parts:
The first part will be based on the singing performance of the great Master Alim Qasimov, in the form of the traditional Azeri Muqam. Two performances by Macadi Nahhas will follow, accompanied by the great Tunisian pianist Sami Ben Said, specially invited for the evening. They will then be joined by Shoayb Shahabi and Ziad El Ahmadie, as well as Persian kamancheh composer and soloist Saeed Khavar Nejad.
In the second part of the concert, the orchestra conducted by Mohamed Bouslamah will join Master Alim Qasimov, accompanied by Shoayb Shahabi, to perform several songs from his repertoire, written in Persian, French and Azeri. Three famous songs in Persian and Arabic language by performer Macadi followed, always accompanied by Shoayb and the symphony orchestra. A piece by Lebanese composer Ziad El Ahmadie, arranged for the occasion by Saeed Khavar Nejad, will close this part.
The last section of this concert, which symbolizes the main idea of ​​this evening entitled “Orient Night”, conceived as an intercultural exchange, will bring together all the musicians and singers of the evening, as well as the symphony orchestra, to perform two original compositions by Saeed Khavar Nejad. The composer took up traditional themes from Azerbaijani, Arab and Iranian music in order to recreate a multicultural musical combination.

Gwendeline LUMARET
President of the SAFPEM Institute