Emirati composer Ihab Darwish represents the avant-garde of Emirati creative expression, so it is fitting that he should make his worldwide debut at ADF. We consider this a milestone moment in ADMAF’s mission and vision to bolster the UAE’s rich cultural landscape. "Waves of My Life" is the perfect marriage of East and West. Darwish has infused his heritage and personal history with the tradition of classical orchestral music and this exclusive, historical performance offered a new experience for all music lovers - H.E. Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder, Abu Dhabi Music and Art Foundation
An Emirati composer and graduate in Advertising and Art Design from the Lebanese American University in Beirut, Ihab Darwish has played and lived music since the age of ten, supported firmly en route by a family that saw sense and a bright future in his passion for musical composition and expression.
With his focus chiefly, though far from exclusively, directed on classical music, Darwish has constructively spent his years since graduation designing and creating a state-of-the-art home recording studio boasting the very latest in technology and instruments. It is from here that his extensive experimentations with and in music take place. The fusion of images and melodies, tapping into his professional knowledge of graphic design, graphic notions and images and turning them into apt sound bites that the audience then reform into graphical representations gives Ihab Darwish’s work a holistic organicism. His deep interest in design and local trends fuse the world into the microcosm of international interchange so personified by the UAE and its long rich history of being at a crossroads of civilisations, ideas and cultures.
From classical to modern musical forms, Darwish blends successfully an array of musical styles and practices drawing on the tonal wealth of traditional oriental instruments, modern symphonics, classical compositions, and recent trends in popular music, all wound into one with the wonder that is modern electronic digital technology to bring the world a sound that is as distant, exotic and alluring as it is familiar, comforting and homely.
Strong representation is given to the traditions and values of his native Emirates and one senses the powerful rooting of melody in the age-old musical heritage of the Middle East and heroic figures from UAE's history such as Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan are melodiously brought to the fore. Alongside this proud delving into the historical roots of the modern UAE, Darwish pays homage to the progressiveness that runs through Emirati society, highlighting phenomena such as the Abu Dhabi Renaissance, the vital role played by women in society, values of self-improvement, love, pride and inclusion while in all his work the universal theme of humanity and the closeness and interdependence of nations is significant. Yet the music speaks out beyond the confines of individual disciplines and divisions to the universalism that ebbs and flows in the minds of people and in the melodies of the music itself.
2017 witnessed a performance of Darwish's compositions by the outstanding musicians of the Beethoven Academy Orchestra from Poland, and their recording at the Alvernia Studios. For the very first time, his music found its reflection in a rendition of over 140 musicians. This experience became pivotal to his development. “Waves of My Life”, his debut album, released in early 2018, to broad critical acclaim for its originality in composition, and was distributed worldwide. The world premiere of Ihab's first orchestral work: “Waves of My Life: Every Real Story Begins With a Note” was in the prestigious and sumptuous setting of the Emirates Palace at the Abu Dhabi Festival, on 14th of March 2018. Both symphonic and cinematic in its conveyance, the concert captivated and enchanted the audience and confirmed Darwish in the conviction as to the worth and merit of his compositional journey.
In March 2018, Ihab Darwish was bestowed with the title of First Guest Composer by the Beethoven Academy Orchestra and was invited to participate as the Ambassador of the Euro Mediterranean Music Academy – EMMA for Peace. The music for the award-winning documentary She (2018) directed by Philip Jamel Rashid was composed by Darwish. The same year was to launch Ihab's collaboration with Zahra Lari, the UAE’s sole professional figure skater. He has composed a special piece for her, one carrying the skater’s name, a signature number used by her in her figure skating performances internationally.
2019 saw Darwish collaborate with the Emirates’ Ministry of Education to produce the groundbreaking and historic theatrical performance Voice of Tolerance produced by the legendary Dragone and staged at Le Perle in Dubai. Darwish was was invited to implement in his composition a rearrangement and reproduction of some of the greatest Arabic songs for inclusion in the show. The very same year Darwish was honoured with the invitation as one of the key composers at the official 48th UAE National Day celebrations. This government invitation was for the show Legacy of Our Ancestors. For this he created and orchestrated musical themes to complement the epic theatrical masterpiece performed. This marvellous spectacle took place in Abu Dhabi at the Zayed Stadium on 2nd December 2019, and was attended by the UAE leadership, royalty, international dignitaries amongst the 14000-strong audience. His music has been performed by none other than the world-class Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.
At the personal request of the office of the UAE’s prime minister, Darwish’s music was employed in a video presentation to complement the UAE-UNESCO Global Tolerance Leadership Programme to design and implement more effective actions to promote and enhance diversity, coexistence and tolerance. His music has also been used by the Department of Government Support, Abu Dhabi.
In March 2020, Darwish received an invitation from the US Embassy in UAE to collaborate with the well known American pianist and composer John Beasley, bearing fruition in a collaborative composition. This was to be the first Cross-Cultural-Continental Exchange between the United Arab Emirates and the United States in the age of physical distancing. This cooperation was organised and showcased by the New York University Arts Center in Abu Dhabi.
Later that year Darwish was commissioned by The Palm Fountain that holds the Guinness World Record of world’s largest fountain, to compose an official theme Aim For The Sky as a sonic brand and its signature music. The composition pays homage to the UAE's culture as well as capture Dubai's cosmopolitanism and is performed regularly at The Palm Fountain at The Pointe, Dubai, since December 1, 2020.
In January 2021, Darwish was invited to join Opera For Peace Academy Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as Founding Global Connections Artist. The UAE Embassy in Washington invited Darwish to join forces with Emirati artists to rearrange the song Over The Troubled Water where he acted as Oriental Artistic Director, blending oriental instruments to the song, directed the Emirati singers and wrote the Arabic lyrics.
In 2021, Darwish virtually performed at Abu Dhabi Festival with his symphonic work Hekayat: Symphonic Tales. His music has traversed the globe with 13 compositions and performed by 128 musicians in 20 countries, capturing the musical traditions and cultures of five continents while making history as the first performance of its kind by an Emirati artist. With musicians, performers and the orchestra filmed individually in 21 cities around the world, the symphony required 675 zoom sessions and 86,600 man-hours of planning and production. The individual performances were synchronized digitally, and innovative post-production technology placed all 128 artists on a virtual 3D model of the stage. The concert broadcasted internationally had more than 4 million views.
Darwish was also invited as a speaker at Mohamed bin Zayed Majlis for Future Generations in March 2021, which connects Emirati youth with UAE leaders to shape a better future for the UAE and was featured at UAE Education Interface Exhibition on March 21st, 2021.