The first in the UAE and aims to empower talent and protect musical ownership

An association that triumphs over the concerns and creativity of Emirati musicians

  • Part of the launch of the Emirates Musicians Association. WAM

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The President of the Emirates Musicians Association, musician Ihab Darwish, confirmed that the preparation of the association, which was announced yesterday, took nearly two years of work and preparation.

He said in an exclusive statement to «Emirates Today», it is the first association of musicians, and is concerned with unifying the voice and entity of musicians. Darwish pointed out that the association is a non-profit of public benefit, under the supervision of the Department of Community Development, and during the two years all the requirements of the association were prepared, as well as the selection of members, and the desired goals, explaining that the main objectives of the association are to empower musicians, create a unified database, and discover talents in the UAE.

Empowering musicians

The president of the association pointed out that the empowerment of musicians will be through training programs and courses within

In addition to integrating musical cooperation between Emirati and international musicians, which allows building bridges of cooperation and signing strategic agreements, whether with local or external strategic partners.

He considered that discovering talents will be part of the association's tasks, as well as creating opportunities for them to play on local and international platforms, which means creating a "repertoire" and musical programs played by Emirati musicians, to unite all the energies and efforts of musicians in the UAE, whether they are musicians, composers, distributors, producers, music teachers and researchers, as well as critics.

Professionalism Standards

Darwish noted that the association will work to develop the Emirati musician community, set and consolidate their professional professional standards, develop the talents of the younger generations, and promote the Emirati music industry and introduce it globally. He explained that one of the most important files that the association will deal with is the support of intellectual property in music in order to protect music, in coordination with the concerned authorities, and the association will provide advice and technical support, explaining that every musician must be aware of all his rights and responsibilities. As for training, Darwish pointed out that there are specialized training programs at all levels in music, as well as creating opportunities for empowerment, by creating programs for awards and honors that motivate workers in the field of music, so that awards will be awarded in multiple categories, whether emerging or capable talents and for multiple categories in the field of playing. There will also be programs whose main mission is to support emerging and young talents, and cooperation will be made with them in their first publications, and the door will be opened for cooperation with children as well.

Cultural language

Darwish said that music is an important cultural language, and the UAE places great emphasis on it, so there will be many supporters, and the association's team and 18 founding members have enough experience to enable the association to achieve the desired goals thanks to the concerted efforts of all. Darwish stressed that the association in the first phase will open its doors to Emiratis to build a database from various emirates of the country, and then in the later stage it will open doors to all nationalities living in the countries, because the exchange of experiences, cultures and skills will increase the benefit. He noted that Emirati music will be present in the association's program, and will not be limited to classical only, but will work on Emirati and classical, as well as merging them to reach Emirati music to the world.

Intellectual Property

Vice Chairman and Secretary, Tariq Al Menhali, confirmed to Emirates Today that he will mainly receive the protection of intellectual property rights, whether for workers in the field of music or even members. Al Menhali praised the UAE law that protects all musical intellectual property, explaining that some workers in the field are registered with international companies to protect their rights, and others work with lawyers, but their numbers are small, and the association will adopt this chapter.

He pointed out that the role of the association is very wide, and there will be keenness to empower Emirati talents in singing and playing, in addition to providing a suitable environment for them, so that they can market themselves, as the association will create a different movement, through its program, and the support of strategic partners.

He considered that the association will be an environment specialized in creativity, pointing out that since its beginnings he wished to obtain guidance, and this is what members will work to provide, as each member of the association has a role in the success of its goals, and providing strategic relations and partnerships with many parties that extend their hands to their citizens and musicians.

Al Menhali said that musicians always aspire to practice their activities within a group, because this in turn creates many opportunities for them, noting that the association will welcome all its visitors after determining its headquarters soon.

A childhood dream

Iman al-Hashemi, a composer specializing in orchestra and soundtrack, a member of the board of directors and treasurer of the association, pointed out that the establishment of the association is one of her childhood dreams, as she wished for a community of musicians, because she considers music a homeland in itself, and the association achieved this dream. She believed that the association will provide technical support, guidance and concerted efforts to make the UAE a pioneer in the field of music, especially by opening the way for the presence of instrumentalists that we are not used to seeing Emirati musicians, with the aim of forming a real Emirati orchestra.

She considered that it is necessary to work on establishing an Emirati orchestra, and this means that real guidance must be found for children and parents, as well as the trend to choose the musical instruments needed to form the orchestra, and train them from five to seven years, so that the Emirati orchestra is ready.

Al-Hashemi noted that the meeting of musicians in the association is the most important step, and this will ensure the achievement of the set goals, especially since the dream of establishing it was the dream of all members present in it today.

Members of the Association

The Emirates Musicians Association (EMSA) has launched a non-profit public benefit association under the supervision of the Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi, with the aim of uniting the efforts, energies and capabilities of UAE musicians, including composers, musicians, arrangers, producers, teachers, researchers and music critics. The association consists of 18 founding members of musicians in different artistic fields, and nine members have been selected for the association's board of directors, chaired by composer Ihab Darwish, and members: Tariq Al Menhali, Hamad Al Taie, Eman Al Hashemi, Ali Rashid, Elham Al Marzouqi, Saqr bin Khalid Al Qasimi, Mohammed Al Jahwari and Taresh Khamis Al Hashemi.

Empowering musicians will be through training programs and courses inside and outside the country.

The association is a non-profit of public benefit, under the supervision of the Department of Community Development.

Empowering musicians, creating a unified database, and discovering talent in the UAE.