Benefit Christmas Concerts Help Ayadina Center

Professor Paul Meers conducts the choir

The Ayadina Association, a voluntary organization dedicated to community development for the destitute of all religions, held two benefit Christmas concerts on December 7 and 8 at Assembly Hall.

On December 7, the Ayadina Association Children's Choir and the International College Senior Choir gave a joint performance of traditional French and English Christmas songs. Later, they were joined by the AUB Choir and Choral Society and the Ensemble Polyphonica to present ten Latin, French, and English songs. All three choirs came together for the evening finale in a heart-warming performance of all-time Christmas favorites, accompanied by several instrumentalists on the flute, violin, cello, and piano.

The particularly rough weather on December 8 did not prevent a large audience from attending Ayadina's second benefit concert the following evening. The Notre Dame University Choir, which had won an international first prize in Laval, Quebec, in 2007, offered the longest and most varied program of the evening under the baton of conductor Father Khalil Rahme. This beautiful segment of carols was preceded by a performance by the American Community School High School Choir, directed by Jeremy Chapman.

The evening also featured the Children's Choir of the Baabda School for the Blind and Deaf. Consisting of eleven blind children singers and three blind instrumentalists, the choir was directed by blind violinist Gaby Khalil, who received an honorary plaque from the Ayadina Association for his group's performance.

Maya Najjar, who is the wife of AUB Dean George Najjar and is a prominent member of the Ayadina Association, was deeply involved in the organization of the two fundraising events. She described the combination of the six different choirs in charity concerts on two consecutive evenings as "a first of a kind pro-bono initiative that uses the arts as a tool for community transformation." The concert proceeds went entirely to the Ayadina Center for Fine and Performing Arts to benefit underprivileged children.