Zaki Nassif Concert and Competition

Dr. Walid Gholmieh conducting the orchestra

A memorial concert of the music of the great Lebanese artist Zaki Nassif was presented in the Assembly Hall on May 30 to an audience of adoring and enthusiastic fans, who filled every seat. The concert, another event in keeping the memory of the composer alive, featured songs close to the hearts of many Lebanese, some of whom were already clapping along, singing, or dancing in their seats well into the first few songs.

In keeping with the commitment to keep Nassif’s spirit influential in music across the country, at the beginning of the concert, the winners of the Zaki Nassif Music Program School Choir Competition across two categories, child and youth, were awarded trophies. First-place winners each performed a Zaki Nassif song in tribute.

The competition, inaugurated this year to mark the fifth anniversary of Nassif’s death, brought more than 70 student choirs to two rounds of competition in the Assembly Hall in April and May. Winners for the children’s division were Notre Dame de Balamand School, in first place; Notre Dame-Frères Furn al-Shabbak School in second; and Notre Dame de Louaize School, Zouk Mosbeh and Sainte Famille School, Jounieh, together sharing third. For the youth division winners were Zahret el-Ihsan School, Ashrafieh in first place; Al-Imam Sadr Institute, Tyre in second; and Aramoun Public School in third.

The Lebanese Oriental Music Orchestra performed the rest of the evening, following the lead of renowned conductor and AUB alumnus Walid Georges Gholmieh. The complete set of songs chosen by Gholmieh included several popular favorites, such as Fairouz’s “I Adore You without Hope” and “Rajeh Yittammar” (Lebanon will be rebuilt), a song remembered by many as an anthem of the civil war.

The concert was organized by the Office of Development in coordination with the Zaki Nassif Music Program committee. Zaki Nassif began his study of music in 1936 at the Institute of Music at AUB, and composed music for many other famous Lebanese artists including Fairouz, Wadi El Safi, Sabah, Nasri Chamseddine, and Majida El Roumi.