Wai’d (Promise) – Michael Ibrahim

The National Arab Orchestra (NAO) is dedicated to preserving and performing the classical and contemporary traditions of Arab music and provides educational opportunities to students bridging social and cultural barriers through music.

The National Arab Orchestra’s founder and music director, Michael Ibrahim, is a conductor and a recognized innovator in the Arab music circuit. A Metro-Detroit native, he was born into a Syrian immigrant family of humble origins. He began his musical studies on the Oud, and later studying the Bassoon and Nay. Ibrahim’s background and unique approach to composition, fusing Western and Arab music, has led to performances in concert halls and venues all over the world!

He earned a bachelor degree in music from Eastern Michigan University, and a Master of Music degree in conducting from Wayne State University.

His role as an educator, providing instrumental and ensemble instruction, lectures and demonstrations on Arab music, privately and in the classroom, at university and grade school levels, ultimately brought him to founding the NAO, where he currently serves as Music Director. Ibrahim hopes that through his performances and educational efforts, he can instill a wider appreciation for Arab music and its heritage.

When listening to this piece, I felt as if I was being transported to the Arabian Desert when the solo Oud was doing some improvisation. Then, when the full orchestra joins in with the oud leading the way with the melody, I’m again put into a desert, more specifically The Rub’ al Khali. Just like in a video game I enjoyed playing in the past, Uncharted 3, it is set in the Rub’al Khali.