Renowned Qatari Composer Dana Al Fardan to Perform Preview of ‘Indigo’ at Kennedy Center

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Qatari composer and songwriter Dana Al Fardan will perform an exclusive preview performance of her soon-to-be launched album, Indigo, at Washington, D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on October 5.

Universal in its scope and message, Al Fardan’s music transcends cultural borders while uniquely showcasing her Arab heritage. The show, which will take place as part of the 2021 Qatar-USA Year of Culture, celebrates the relationship between the two countries and promotes understanding, recognition and appreciation of their unique partnership.

"It is the Embassy's highest mission to celebrate and strengthen the unique partnership between our two countries every day. This year, that mission takes on special meaning as we collaborate on events, performances, and exhibits that showcase our unique cultural identity to a wider audience as part of the Qatar-USA Year of Culture. Dana Al Fardan is a source of pride to the Qatari people, and we look forward to welcoming her to Washington for a preview of her newest musical creation," said His Excellency Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United States.

Al Fardan’s original Arab-influenced neo-classical music and her unique concept of using light and color to make the experience more profound has won global praise. The inspiration for her multisensory approach is from the great German literary figure, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who famously explored the psychological impact of different colors on mood and emotion in his Theory of Colours (published 1810).

Al Fardan explains, “I composed each of Indigo’s 10 pieces with a precise colour scheme to capture a particular mood and state of being, designed to awaken each of your senses in turn.”

The exclusive preview of Indigo will include a chamber orchestra performing the new work in synch with a specially designed light and sound set, offering the audience a truly immersive, multi-sensory experience.

About Dana Al Fardan

A contemporary Qatari composer, songwriter and symphonic artist who has performed everywhere from the United Nations to London’s West End, Dana Al Fardan draws on her rich cultural heritage and love of world music in her work. Epic in scale and universally accessible, Al Fardan’s work can be difficult to define, but is perhaps best summed up as Arabic-influenced contemporary classical.

Al Fardan is the brand ambassador of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO), with whom she recorded her first two albums, “Layla” and “Sandstorm”. She made her London debut at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, where she performed her full repertoire alongside the London Metropolitan Orchestra, bringing Qatari music to a UK audience for the first time. She has since performed at venues around the world.

In 2019, “Broken Wings”, for which she wrote the musical score, became the first Middle East musical to appear in London’s West End, going on to be performed in theatres around the globe. Al Fardan is currently completing her second musical, Rumi, a celebration of the Persian poet and Sufi master whose works are still universally acclaimed more than 700 years after his death.

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About The Embassy of the State of Qatar

The Embassy of the State of Qatar in Washington, D.C. houses Qatar's diplomatic mission to the United States. The primary purposes of the Embassy of Qatar are to highlight Qatar’s policies on regional issues, strengthen Qatar-U.S. bilateral relations and assist Qatari citizens who travel to or live in the U.S. The current Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United States of America is His Excellency Sheikh Meshal Bin Hamad Al-Thani. To learn more, visit: https://qatar-usa.com.