Music

The Artist Of The Month

Issam Rafea

The Syrian musician  Issam Rafea was born in Kuwait in 1971and joined the Damascus High Institute for Music in 1990 where he specialized in lute and double bass under the supervision of professors Fayez Zahr El-Din and Askar Ali-Akbar.
After graduation in 1995, he continued his studies in theories of music and harmony under the supervision of Professor Fiktor Banko.
Currently he is the head of the Oriental Music Department at the Damascus High Institute for Music and the conductor for the Oriental Music National Orchestra.
In 1996 he established Hiwar music group with renowned artists like Kinan AL-Azmeah (Clarinet player) and Kinan Abou Affash (cello player). Since then, Hiwar music group has been developed to include collaborations from a group of outstanding Syrian players such as Deema O'rsho and Badie Rafea .

So far, Hiwar music group has recorded and produced two CDs:
 a.   Hiwar (2005)
 b.   9 days of isolation  (2006)

In addition to Hiwar, Issam Rafea established Towais music group specialized in oriental music. He also participated in many Arabic and international music festivals and was awarded numerous awards like:

- 4th prize at the Cairo Improvisation Competition 2000

-1st prize in lute category at the same festival.

-2nd prize at the Arabic Traditional Ensembles (1997 Cairo, Egypt).

Issam Rafea is also a prolific composer and arranger for Syrian TV and theatre and he still finds time to play with the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra. Apart from Syria and thanks to his great talent, Issam Rafea was invited to play  in France, Spain, Morocco, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and Kuwait.
It is difficult to categorize the music of  Hiwar as belonging to any  in specific type, because this music is     a mixture of different cultures and civilizations. As the meaning of the group implies, the music of Hiwar  (dialogue in Arabic), aspires to be a bridge connecting East and West and  encourages the listener to ask questions.