Contestants of the Ratiba El-Hefny Arab Music and Singing competition for youth, children (Photo: courtesy of Cairo Opera House)
The annual Ratiba El-Hefny Arab Music and Singing Competition for children and youth announced its winners on Sunday.
The competition, held under the aegis of the Arab Music Festival, received 220 entrants, including 65 children. Thirty contestants competed in instrument playing abilities. The competition took place between 2 and 6 November, with results announced on 10 November.
The contestants came from numerous Egyptian governorates, many representing well-established music education centres.
This year, numerous winners include children and youth taking singing and music classes at the Talents Development Centre, operating under the Cairo Opera House, as well as winners from the Cairo Opera Children Choir and the Ratiba El-Hefny music centre.
El-Hefny, a soprano, launched the competition in the early 1990s. She also assumed the position of the chairperson overlooking the opera’s opening and start-up of activities between 1988 and 1990.
Under El-Hefny’s chairmanship, the Cairo Opera House saw the birth of new companies under its wings: the National Arab Music Ensemble and the Cairo Opera House Children’s Choir.
The jury of this year's competition included the head of the Arab Music Festival Jihan Morsy, alongside Egyptian and international musicians and artists Iman Mustafa, Helmy Bakr, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Abdel Wahab El Sayed, Nadia Mostafa, Hassan Sharara, Emad Ashour, Maged Sorour, Mahmoud Kamel, in addition to Hoda Abdallah (Bahrain), Walid Al Haddad (Bahrain) and Mona Al Sayegh (Lebanon).
The 28th edition of the Arab Music Festival ran from 1 to 12 November.
Jury of the Ratiba El-Hefny Arab Music and Singing competition for youth, children (Photo: courtesy of Cairo Opera House)
Winners of the Ratiba El-Hefny Arab Music and Singing Competition:
Instruments: Eastern takht music
First place (EGP 20,000 award): cellist Youssef Al Abdallah
Second place (EGP 15,000 award): violin player Amir Shawky Saleeb
Third place (EGP 10,000 award): violinist Ziad Tamer Saqr
Jury prize (EGP 10,000 award): shared between two oud players, Hisham Mokhtar and Soha Said Riad
Singing competition for youth
First place (EGP 20,000 award): Kenzi Turk from the Talents Development Centre in Cairo
Second place (EGP 15,000 award): Omnia Abou Bakr
Third place (EGP 10,000 award): shared between Karim Hossam Mostafa and Momen Ahmed Khalil
Jury prize (EGP 10,000 award): Menatalla Tarek
Singing competition for children
First place (EGP 10,000 award): Youssef Hassan Saad from the Talents Development Centre in Cairo
Second place (EGP 7,000 award): Rozan Mohamed El-Sayed from the Talents Development Centre in Alexandria
Third place (EGP 5,000 award): Malak Mohamed Fathy from the Cairo Opera Children's Choir
Jury prize (EGP 5,000 award): Walid Mostafa from the Talents Development Centre in Tanta
Singing competition for youth with special abilities
First place (EGP 10,000 award): Mariam Tarek from the Talents Development Centre in Cairo
Second place (EGP 7,000 award): Mustafa Ahmed from Ratiba El-Hefny Centre in Cairo
Third place (EGP 5,000 award): Tamer Nabil from the Talents Development Centre in Cairo
Singing competition for children with special abilities
First place (EGP 7,000 award): Assem Mohamed
Second place (EGP 5,000 award): Mohannad Emadeddin from the Talents Development Centre in Cairo
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