Celestial music is coming to Dubai next Sunday. The annual Harpists for Peace concert, held at The Fridge, will combine the talents of four harpists and a qanun player to perform classical western and Arabian pieces for a noble cause.
The event
Founded in 2007 by American harpist and human rights activist Alexis Aria, Harpists for Peace is an international collective of harpists performing annual one-hour concerts dedicated to world peace. Dubbed as Peace Hour, the concerts are held in venues ranging from historical sites, beaches, parks and concert halls.
Notable Peace Hour concert sites include New York's Ground Zero and London's Parliament Square. Courtesy of the local musical collective The Fridge, Dubai joined the event in 2009 with its own concerts. Sunday's performance at the group's headquarters in Al Quoz 4 will mark the city's fourth Peace Hour concert.
The players
Next week's performance will be the biggest yet, with the addition of a fourth harpist. Led by regular Dubai performer Lidia Stankulova, the group also includes other Dubai-based musicians: Harjoot Singh, Diana Pandova and Teaguen Scott. "We first heard about it in on Facebook," Stankulova explains. "Our first concert was in Festival City here in Dubai and people really had a good time. The concerts were also a way to introduce the harp to the public, so they heard something new."
The instrument
Consisting of up to 47 strings and seven pedals, the harp is one of the most difficult instruments to play in terms of technique and sheer size. Stankulova, who studied the instrument in her native Bulgaria before arriving in Dubai seven years ago, explains that it requires a fair amount of brawn to produce those delicate sounds.
"It requires a lot of power," she says. "It is very technical because you are using all the strings, the pedals and the playing has to be strong as well as balanced."
The harp has been the instrument of choice to soundtrack high teas in some of Dubai's leading hotels. Stankulova can be normally found playing in Jumeirah Zabeel Saray and the Burj Al Arab. "It creates a sound I'd describe as warm," she says. "Some people even describe it as an angelic voice."
The Arabian harp
The quartet will be joined by Dubai's Khalil Ghadri on qanun, an instrument described as the Arabian harp. Ghadri is an in-demand session musician for the likes of the Iraqi star Kadim Al Sahir and the UAE legend Hussain Al Jassmi.
The viewers of the satellite channel MBC will be exposed to Ghadri even more during the next weeks, with its forthcoming Ramadan adverts soundtracked by the Syrian.
Speaking to The National before a solo concert in June at The Fridge, Ghadri hailed the qanun's musical flexibility: "The qanun can play the bass, middle and high octaves. It gives you more space to play around the notes," he said. "It can play the harmony as well as the melody, basically anything you feel and that is very important when composing music."
Stankulova says the addition of the qanun will enhance the performance's already ethereal vibe. "It sounds more magical," she says. "The qanun is different to the harp in that it sounds much more light. When you put them together, I think both instruments complete each other."
The programme
For the performance, the four harpists will play classical works showcasing the instrument. The programme will include works by the French composer Claude Debussy and Spain's Enrique Granados. When Ghadri hits the stage, the musicians will perform an Arab music repertoire.
Sunday, The Fridge, Al Quoz 4, Street 26, Dubai. Doors open at 7.30pm, and the performance begins at 8pm. Free entry. Details at www.thefridgedubai.com
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
