OCT.26/2019 - Les Musicales de Baabdath

An opening concert bringing together young Lebanese musicians and Czech soloists with the JML orchestra conducted by Yasmina Sabbah. A collaborative project between Les Musicales de Baabdath and Les Jeunesses Musicales du Liban.

VANDA SABAKOVA | Harp
YAN RYSKA | Cello

JML ORCHESTRA CONDUCTED
BY
YASMINA SABBAH

Eduard Dayan & Kevin Kanaan
Violin

Baabdath | Maronite Parish Hall 8:00 pm
Free Entrance

CONCERT PARTNER

PROGRAM

J. S. BACH (1685 – 1750)
Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043

Vivace
Largo, ma non tanto
Allegro

P. POPELKA (b. 1986)
Czech Suite for harp, cello and string orchestra

Pastoral
Song
Scherzo
Intermezzo & Pastoral
Finale

Intermission

G. F. HANDEL (1685 – 1759)
Harp Concerto in B-Flat Major Op. 4, No. 6

Andante – Allegro
Larghetto
Allegro Moderato

J. HAYDN (1732 – 1809)
Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob. VIIb:1

Moderato
Adagio
Allegro molto

Vanda Sabakova (Harp)

Vanda Sabakova comes from an artistic family. She studies harp from the age of five under the supervision of the solo-harpist of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonia and professor of conservatories in Ostrava, Brno and Pilsen, Ivana Švestková Dohnalová. She also consults her work with renowned soloists – in recent years she has participated in master classes of Petra van der Heide (RCO Amsterdam) and Marie-Pierre Langlamet (Berliner Philharmoniker).

Vanda has started her concert activity at an early age. She won the first prize in her category at the International Harp Competition in Novi Sad, Serbia and the title of absolute winter and the prize for the best performance of the compulsory composition in the Competition of Conservatoires of the Czech Republic. It is also essential to mention her participation in International Harp Days in Ostrava, concerts with members of Staatskapelle Dresden and Kammerorchester ohne Dirigenten Dresden, annual live broadcasts for Czech radio station Český Rozhlas or permanent cooperation with the Chamber Orchestra of Kutná Hora.

In October 2017 she performed as a soloist in Diettersdorf’s Concerto in A major at the Festival of Young European Artists in Lvov accompanied by the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra. In the summer of 2018 she had a concert tour in Japan, performing, among other compositions, a unique sonata by François Joseph Naderman with her father. As a result, she was awarded the Prize for Outstanding Artistic Performance for artists under 30 by the Mayor of the City of Pilsen, which she received as the youngest laureate in history.

Vanda plays instruments of the prestigious American company Lyon & Healy; her first harp was Ogden, then switched to Chicago 40 and now she owns Style 23 Bronze.

Jan Ryska (Cello)

Jan Ryska (1984) started his musical studies at the age of five. He graduated in cello performance majorcum laude from the Prague Conservatory, the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and at the Universität für Musik unddarstellende Kunst in Vienna. Since his childhood Jan Ryska has become a laureate of many international cello and chamber music competitions – among some of the recent achievements we could name the 1st price in the Brahms International Chamber Music Competition in Austria, the 1st and the special prices in the Pinerollo Chamber Music Competition in Italy (member of the WFIMC) or the 1st and Grand Prix of the Beethoven Competition.

His other activities include solo and chamber music concerts (with the Stratos Quartett) in different European countries as well as in Japan or USA and recordings for the Czech Radio.

Since January 2012 is Jan Ryska engaged by the Vienna State Opera and performs intensively with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in all major world venues and festivals with the most distinguished conductors. In 2016 and 2017 he served as a Solo-cellist of the Tonkünstler Orchestra, too.

Jan Ryska plays on a Francesco Barbieri cello made in Mantova, Italy, in 1740.

Yasmina Sabbah (Conductor)

Yasmina Sabbah holds a Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from the prestigious University of Cambridge, in the UK.

She is one of the few active women conductors in Lebanon, and currently leads the USJ choir, the Conservatory Youth Choir and Children Choir, as well as the Jeunesses Musicales du Liban orchestra. In May 2019, she conducted her first concert with the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra performing a British program by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar. She is also a professor of music at AUB and LAU.

Yasmina Sabbah has received several awards such as the Patron’s Award in ChoirFest Dubai (2015), the Philippe Jabre Merit Award (2012), the Rosemary Salhaney Haggar Choral Award (2010), and the Choral Leadership Award (2009).

Her aim is to earn a Ph. D and contribute to spreading choral and orchestral music in Lebanon and the region as well as improving music education in schools and universities.

Young, passionate and motivated, it is in her mission to break stereotypes in Lebanon and assert herself as a woman in positions of leadership.

Les Jeunesses Musicales du Liban

The Jeunesses Musicales du Liban (JML) is an NGO founded in 1956. Active throughout the war, the JML were officially and legally relaunched in 2005, and joined the Jenesses Musicales Internationals (JMI) in January 2019. The goal of JML is to promote music in Lebanon – from classical to jazz – and make it accessible to the youth. In fact, JML organizes regularly several free concerts, conferences, lectures and recitals.

Revived in 2012, the JML Orchestra brings together young motivated instrumentalists and experienced professionals. The goal of this orchestra is to provide an opportunity for student musicians to perform in a professional setting, learn from experts, improve their technique and explore new repertoire. The JML orchestra offers several free concerts yearly with varied programs and different collaborations with choirs, living composers, and festivals.