DUBAI: Firdaus Orchestra, the pioneering all-women musical ensemble led by Academy and Grammy Award-winning composer A.R. Rahman, will close Expo 2020 Dubai’s Space Week on October 23. The orchestra will render a stellar space-themed repertoire comprising Western classical music and an original composition by Rahman.
The performance by the Firdaus Orchestra at Expo 2020’s Jubilee Park will be led by conductor Yasmina Sabbah and representing a melange of musical talent from across the Arab world, which will bring their spellbinding showcase to Expo’s Space Week celebrations.
The one-hour performance will include “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as music from Star Wars and E.T. – Adventures on Earth. It will also feature Karl Jenkins’ “Palladio,” Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5,” and a grand finale performance by A.R. Rahman who will present an exclusive new composition, Humanitas-Proorismós-Al Amal – an ode by the composer to explorers of space. ‘Al Amal’ is the Arabic word for ‘Hope’, which, fortuitously, is also the name of the first Arab mission to Mars.
A.R. Rahman said, “To know the unknown is the quest of life, and by exploring space we explore ourselves.”
Source: Expo 2020 website
