Formed in 2008, Dozan wa Awtar Singers is the leading secular choir in Jordan, with a diverse membership and repertoire. We welcome people of all nationalities and faiths, who want to experience the joy of si... more*** Dozan wa Awtar Singers ***
Formed in 2008, Dozan wa Awtar Singers is the leading secular choir in Jordan, with a diverse membership and repertoire. We welcome people of all nationalities and faiths, who want to experience the joy of singing and exploring music as a way of building community based on love and respect. The choir performs several major concerts each year; its Christmas and Spring concerts in Amman are highly anticipated events.
Dozan wa Awtar’s repertoire includes a wide range of sacred music, from Byzantine hymns through the chorale classics of Western music to the present day and Islamic anasheed. The choir also enjoys performing secular music, including folk songs from around the world, Broadway hits and arrangements of popular, contemporary music in many languages. A sub-group of the choir, called “Dozan,” is specializing in performing traditional and contemporary music in Arabic. Some of Dozan wa Awtar’s original arrangements – such as a fusion of the Muslim call to prayer (athan) with Christian hymns calling the faithful to worship—break new ground.
The Dozan wa Awtar Singers include 40-60 members from Jordan and all over the world. Representing different professions, ages and interests, they all share a deep love of music and singing. Each choir member is encouraged to enrich the group with his or her own ideas, skills and resources. One choir member wrote original orchestral arrangements for the 2010 Christmas concert; others train newer members in sight reading and music theory or coach sectional practice sessions. In recent years, Dozan wa Awtar’s activities have extended to innovative performing arts productions that unite communities, including projects that bridge music with other art forms, such as theatre, dance and film.
Most important is the educational role that Dozan wa Awtar is playing by introducing new workshops, courses and conferences at all types of institutions for people of various ages and professions. We enjoy sharing what we know and passing it on to future generations. Selections from major concerts are often adapted for children’s matinee events, where interactive components engage young children in appreciating and making music. For example, a Spring 2009 matinee introduced children to different kinds of rhythms and musical imagery appearing in pieces sung by the choir and involved the young audience in creating their own “musical pictures.”
During May 2010, Dozan wa Awtar participated in the prestigious International Festival for Sacred Music in Germany, presenting a program reflecting the multi-faith sacred music traditions of our region, including some powerful original arrangements performed for the first time. In preparation for that trip, the choir studied traditional Arab music with a master teacher and performed during his own group’s weekly concert in Amman. Dozan wa Awtar also meets with other Arab chorale groups a few times a year to perform together, learn from each other and to experience the cultural attractions of other Arab countries. In the summer of 2004, Dozan joined a choir from Jerusalem, international guest soloists and a Jordanian orchestra for a thrilling “Opera Night” staged atop Citadel Hill under the stars and above the twinkling lights of Amman.
During Ramadan in 2009 and 2010, the choir introduced a new tradition of offering a “musical trivia night and iftar” with fun quizzes and live performances of both Arab and international music.
Our 2011 season has been affected by the “Arab Awakening” events across our region. Dozan’s planned trip to Palestine during April 7-10 to participate in the Spring Festival organized by the Yaboos Music Festival had to be cancelled. Dozan was meant to sing with local choirs in Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem. Later in April and early May, the whole Dozan wa Awtar Singers were to collaborate with the symphonic choir and orchestra of the Syrian High Institute of Music (Conservatory) to perform Mozart’s “Requiem” in both Damascus and Amman. While the Damascus trip had to be cancelled, the Amman concert is on for May 14. In early June, a summer concert in Amman will showcase the Arabic program, called “Lamma Bada,” prepared by Dozan for Palestine. At the end of June, the Dozan wa Awtar ensemble offers an “Oldies Night,” of international favorites from decades past. An inspirational Christmas concert will close the season in early December, seeking to exceed the magic created by the 2010 concert at the Jordan Museum in which Dozan wa Awtar collaborated with the Friends of the Jordan Festival and was joined by the Amman Sinfionetta orchestra and three soloists from France.
Dozan wa Awtar singers is much more than a choir – it is a vibrant community. An annual retreat is held at the start of each season where we get to know new members and explore our musical creativity. We enjoy each other’s company in social gatherings, bus holidays, learning new music, hiking, and singing with and for others. Every year, a number of community service events are organized by choir members to offer a meal, gifts and participation in songs and musical games for refugees, children with physical and mental challenges, and nursing home patients, among others. Our love of music, our colleagues, our audiences and our community illuminates our singing.
If you are interested in joining Dozan wa Awtar Singers, please see “Contact Us” for notes on what we look for in our members and how to audition or email: hala@dozan-awtar.com
*** The Conductor: Shireen Abu-Khader ***
Jordanian-born Shireen Abu-Khader comes from a musical family, including one of the first professional teachers of voice and chorale music in Jordan and co-founder of Amman’s first community choir, as well as patrons of opera and classical music. After obtaining her Bachelor of Arts in music education from Oberlin College Conservatory in 1994 and her Master’s degree in choral music from the Univers less
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