Saudi Arabia is establishing a transitional phase in the path of developing the music sector
Saudi Arabia is heading to develop the music scene in the country at all levels, by presenting a package of initiatives aimed at developing the infrastructure for musical culture, discovering talents and highlighting the musical folklore of various regions, in addition to empowering Saudi musicians and qualifying them to participate in international forums.
The Saudi Ministry of Culture, through the Music Authority, is working to support initiatives that contribute to achieving the goals of that strategy, through 5 basic pillars, which are “education”, where music education is available to all individuals of all ages, skills and social backgrounds.
Followed by the “production” pillar, which aims to support the process of establishing a regional center for music production, to enhance social and economic impacts and attract local and international talents. wide range.
The authority has also allocated a pillar for “awareness and support” in order to promote music to be an essential part of the lifestyle that individuals live in and to be a successful career path for those who wish to practice it, and the last pillar is “licenses” that come to ensure the application of the highest levels of protection for the work of professionals in the field of music. Apply all quality standards and provide valuable rewards at the system level.
The initiatives work to highlight the Saudi musical folklore – SPA
Cultural capacity development strategy
In December of last year, the Saudi Ministries of Culture and Education launched a “cultural capacity development strategy aimed at linking education outputs with the needs of the labor market in the cultural sector; The strategy works to include culture and arts in all stages of technical and vocational education and training, and to develop the educational environment, to develop and upgrade the cultural sector.
Among the objectives of the strategy is to train teachers in the musical arts to transfer them to students at all educational levels, in addition to developing curricula specialized in music, which students study and contribute to establishing them on the basic musical skills that they need to learn any musical instrument.
The strategy began with the establishment of rehabilitation programs for teachers, including attracting more than 15,000 kindergarten teachers from various Saudi regions in several stages to develop their competencies, and build their cognitive and performance skills related to the implementation of musical activities directed to children, through learning about the characteristics of sound and related terminology; To build the child’s personality and form his aesthetic taste.
Launching the first accredited diploma in music
As part of the Saudi plan to teach music in various educational sectors, the House of Music Institute in Riyadh launched the first accredited music diploma program in Saudi Arabia to qualify graduates to work as music teachers in schools in support of the cultural development strategy and to develop music amateurs academically so that they can transfer their knowledge to others.
During the inauguration of the music diploma program, Moataz Al-Shabanah, Executive Director of the Institute, said that the program offered by the Institute will start from the academic year and the duration of the study will be two years, and it is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia, and it will represent a quantum leap in the field of music education locally.
Al-Shabanah added that the diploma comes as part of the Institute’s efforts to promote musical culture, and over the past years it has been able to achieve tangible achievements in the field of music education and development, including, for example, training and qualifying the Saudi National Band and the National Choir, and presenting a large group of talents, artists, musicians and orchestras.
The institute will teach music within programs that end with accredited academic certificates that are in line with the best international educational curricula, train and qualify musical groups and manage them, provide musical consultations, in addition to holding musical events and performances, creating a sound identity, preparing training bags, as well as providing free music courses.
Press conference during the launch of the first music diploma in Saudi Arabia (Al-Bayt Music Institute)
Talent attraction programmes
In addition to the Saudi plans to establish young people in musical skills and qualify them through the school curricula, the Music Authority has also worked to attract current talents, support them and help them start their artistic career, through several programs, the latest of which is the “Wave” program in cooperation with the Anghami platform, as it presents a series of workshops Carefully selected work supervised by a group of trainers and experts in this field; To provide them with the basic skills that help them launch towards professionalism in the world of music, aiming to graduate up to 100 exceptional talents in the world of art and music.
The program comes within a comprehensive framework, designed to guide aspiring artists to create unique music, by offering them an integrated journey to discover various aspects, including songwriting, composing, production, distribution and mixing, under the supervision of experienced producers, sound engineers, singers and composers.
The head of the production department at Anghami, Camille Abi Khalil, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the program will take the Saudi music scene to another dimension that will enrich this basic sector by refining and enhancing the skills of local artists and enabling them to make the expected impact on the global stage, and talents will be able to show their capabilities. At the global level, which will help establish Saudi Arabia’s role as an active and innovative music center on the regional and international map.
Kamil confirmed that the Anghami platform will work to publish the works resulting from this program and market them to the users of the platform to make a difference on the global stage and launch the career of musical talents in the region and on a larger scale.
Abi Khalil explained that all talents are welcome, and we encourage those who find musical talent to apply in the program, as there is no difference in the criteria; If he is an academic or possesses talent and wants to refine it, whether he is a graduate of music, artists, musicians, or even amateurs with innate talents.
He added that the program was an extension of the success of previous programs in which we worked in Saudi Arabia, the latest of which was the Voice of Saudi Arabia program, which achieved great success and launched many Saudi artists and talents, and that Anghami was keen with the Music Authority to follow up on efforts to help and develop the largest number of these talents to create a body An incubator for music in Saudi Arabia, developing this sector and empowering artists and musicians.
For his part, Ahmed Al-Rasheed, managing director of Saudi Anghami, said that the platform supports the vision of the Kingdom and the government sector in empowering Saudi society, supporting local talents and refining their talents, and we aspire towards any cooperation that enhances promising local capabilities and talents and enabling Saudi Arabia to exist in the global music scene.
