Egyptian blind girls orchestra to perform

On Thursday 7 June, an orchestra consisting of over 30 blind girls, the pride of the Al-Nour Wal-Amal Association, will perform a concert at Wekalet El-Ghouri. The orchestra was created by Istiklal Radi, the first director of the association. The late Samha Khouli, former president of the Academy of Arts and former dean of the Cairo Conservatory, provided the association with an academic basis for the creation of professional musicians. For two decades, the orchestra was trained and conducted by late Ahmed Abul-Eid. Today, it is under the artistic supervision of Ines Abdel-Daim, chairperson of the Cairo Opera House, and conducted and trained by Aly Osman. The first generation of musicians formed an orchestra consisting of 16 girls. Today, it has 38 musicians, representing mainly third generation graduates of the Al-Nour Wal Amal Music Institute. "Since its creation, the Chamber Orchestra at the Music Institute has become one of the most important parts of the association. The first time the orchestra performed outside the association's premises was at the old Cairo Opera House in 1972," Amal Fikry, vice-chair of the association, explains. Today, the orchestra performs extensively in Egypt and has over 20 international trips on its resume. Last May, the orchestra gave a very successful performance in Malta. This month, the orchestra will perform in Belgium.from ahram online.