Whether she's performing at a concert or speaking at an academic conference, Lebanese singer and poet Jahida Wehbe is always in her element.
Those same creative characteristics, which define her career, will come together when she takes part in the Abu Dhabi Culture Summit, which is set to run at Manarat Al Saadiyat from Sunday until next Tuesday.
In addition to performing select songs featuring lyrics by revered Arab poets Kahlil Gibran, Mahmoud Darwish and Rabaa Al Adawiya, the artist is looking forward to mixing it up with delegates from different disciplines.
It is an atmosphere she relishes, Wehbe says, as it takes her back to her academic days studying psychology in university, in addition to completing a degree in vocalism and the oud at the Lebanese National Superior Conservatory of Music.
“I think it is vitally important for artists to expose themselves to as many different cultural arenas as they can,” she tells The National.
“And the Abu Dhabi Culture Summit is extremely important because of what it represents. We are talking about how culture can essentially shield us from ignorance.
“Culture makes better communities and keeps us away from all kinds of extremism and discrimination that ultimately leads to wars and violence.”
It's the same belief that has powered Wehbe's career, which seamlessly blends music, literature and theatre.
She first made an impression with the brilliant breakout album, 2013's Katabtany, a fusion of restrained music compositions paired with poetry by the likes of late German Nobel Prize winner Gunter Grass and Algeria's fierce feminist writer Ahlam Mosteghanemi.
From then on, she expanded her literary reach: in 2014's Shahd, she teamed up with the Belgian quintet Osama Abdulrasol Ensemble (led by the famed Iraqi qanun player) to provide musical accompaniment to poetry by literary greats such as Chile's Pablo Neruda and Syria's Adonis.
In 2017, Wehbe took her craft to the small screen by collaborating with Abu Dhabi TV on a series of 30 spiritual music compositions and videos to be aired nightly during Ramadan.
Wehbe disagrees with the notion that her work can be considered as niche.
“I just want to provide a different approach with the music that I am making,” she says. “I am trying to simulate and address people's conscience and thoughts because there is a lot of music right now that speaks to people's bodies.
"I am trying to readdress that balance in my own way but doing it in a style that is inviting and modern.”
An example of which is her successful Divas show, which toured Dubai and the wider region, including a performance at the 2020 Baalbeck Festival in Lebanon.
A mix of theatre and a live concert performance, Wehbe performed songs and monologues by some of the Arab, French and Mediterranean world's greatest female singers with modern jazz arrangements.
Her latest single Beirut Tuffhaton Lil Bahr, is another stirring example of that forward-thinking approach.
A collaboration with Sary and Ayad Khalife, the sons of revered Lebanese composer Marcel Khalife, it is a melange of musical styles, with Wehbe's rich and husky tones paired with a vibrant and improvisational score with Sary and Ayad on violin and piano respectively.
The lyrics celebrating Beirut's splendour and tenacity are also an amalgam of poetry by Darwish, Adonis, Boland Haidari and Khalil Hawi.
"I wanted to gather poetry that speaks of the contrasting natures of Beirut,” Wehbe says. “It’s an iconic city that lived through everything from periods of ambition to despair to beauty and misery.”
Wehbe confirms the track will feature in the new album Salt and Shadows, to be released next year.
"It is a project that features wonderful and rich Arabic poetry," she says. "Both Sary and Ayad Khalife are producing and playing and I am responsible for the melodies.
“It has been a great experience because the music, while recorded in the studio, has a very organic and live feel and there is also a lot of improvisation."
While the Abu Dhabi Culture Summit has limited places for the public to attend, Wehbe reveals she aims to be back in Abu Dhabi with a new show.
"It is a collaboration with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra and is inspired by the short story anthology One Thousand and One Nights," she adds.
“I am currently in discussion with the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi about bringing this project, which started in Europe, to Abu Dhabi," she says. "God willing, there will be some good news soon in the future."
More information on the Abu Dhabi Culture Summit is available at culturesummitabudhabi.com
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
RACE CARD
6.30pm Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.40pm Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m
8.15pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
