Zaid Jabri

Born in Damascus 1975, he began his musical education by studying the violin with R. Sukar in his native town. He completed his M.A. degree with honors from the Music Academy of Cracow where he studied composition with Zbigniew Bujarski. At present, Zaid is working on his PhD at the same School under the supervision of Professor Krzysztof Penderecki. Zaid won the first prize at the Adam Didur Composers’ Competition in Sanok in 1997 for his piece (Two Songs for Soprano and String Orchestra). In 1999 he participated in the International Musikwerkstatt Buckow in Germany. In 2008 Zaid was invited by Istanbul Bilgi University music department as Artist/Composer during The Days of Polish Music. During his musical workshops & activities around the world, Zaid had consultation lessons with Peter-Jan Wagemans, Martin Smolka, Osvaldas Balakauskas, Folke Rabe, Per Norgard, Krzysztof Meyer. His works have been performed in Poland (Warsaw Autumn & Cracow composer’s Days), Germany,Dubai, Egypt (Opera House), Tunisia, France, Italy, USA, Armenia (by Armenian National Symphony Orchestra), Syria (by Syrian National Symphony Orchestra), Slovakia, Ukraine (by Lviv philharmonic during Contrast Festival & by Kiev Kamerata during The Festival of Modern Music) , Holland (by Nieuw Ensemble), and the United Kingdom (by English Chamber Orchestra).

Selected works:

-Two Songs for Soprano and String Orchestra (1997) - Adar for String Orchestra (1998) -Trio Bayat for clarinet, violin and cello (1999) -Beati Pacifici for mixed choir (2000) -Gesture for violin and piano (2000) -Concerto for Violin and Large Symphony Orchestra (2000) -“For Nahel” for trumpet and piano (2001) - Miroir for mixed choir (2001) -“Les temps des pierre” for baritone and piano (2001) -Gesture II for violin and piano (2002) -Chamber Music for string orchestra (2003) -Computer Music No. 1 for tape (2003) -Levante for two violins and large symphony orchestra (2003) -Levante II for large symphony orchestra (2003) -Concerto for Clarinet and Large Symphony Orchestra /premiered in the Opening of Damascus Opera House (2004) -Levante III for violin and large symphony orchestra (2004) -Oriento Grosso for clarinet, cello and orchestra (2004) -Concerto for Violin and Symphony Orchestra No. 2 (2005) -Glyptos for flute and percussion (2005) (commissioned by the Warsaw Autumn Festival) -Levante IV for large symphony orchestra (2006) -“Les Temps Des Pierre” for Baritone and Symphony Orchestra (2007) -“Song Without Words II” for Clarinet and String Orchestra (2007) -String quartet (2008) -“In memoriam Sulhi Al-wadi” for tape, clarinet, string trio/commissioned by The Syria Trust for Development (2008) -“Song Without Words 3” for Cello and Strings /commissioned by The Syria Trust for Development (2009)

„As for Zaid Jabri, I can affirm without any hesitation that the future holds great promise for this astounding and incredibly gifted young composer. When I first heard his music, I couldn’t believe my ears, and felt so proud that out of a country with almost no western classical music tradition, a composer of world class standards would emerge on par with other composers who come from countries with deeply rooted musical traditions. What I particularly like about the music of Zaid Jabri is his seamless integration of the oriental music aesthetics; sounds that our subconscious taste is accustomed to and familiar with, and the most advanced musical idioms that are prevalent in the West today. Naturally, Zaid who is quite original and creative did not fall into the trap of rewriting popular musical tunes from Syria and the Middle East in a more sophisticated western musical language.When I first met Zaid in the summer of 2004, we became immediate friends. I had a lengthy and fascinating conversation with him, and subsequently I wrote an article about his music and published it in the Syrian weekly ‘Abiad wa Aswad’. I am still following the progress of his career, looking forward to the day that he will get the world recognition he rightly deserves."