Greek melodies were highly appreciated by Saudis and expatriates alike at the Greek musical evening held at the Greek Cultural Center in Jeddah, Thursday. The musical night was organized by the Greek consulate in Jeddah with the cooperation of a number of expatriate musicians who enjoy music as a form of cultural exchange and sought to introduce Greek music to the people of Jeddah. Dr. Richard A. Swann, a music teacher who is part of the community development project at King Abdullah University of Science and technology (KAUST), a musician and the leader of the orchestra composed and compiled all the pieces of the music performed during the event. His compositions and arrangements of coral music also included sea poems and a collection of six songs with text by renowned Welsh poet, Bryn Griffiths. Arranged to be performed by a choir with percussion and piano accompaniments, the performance was equally enjoyed by the audience and performers. “Our musical band comprises of members of KAUST and the Greek community here; one of our members Ioanna Rigina Karariga from Greece came up with the idea of doing this musical program,” Dr. Swann explained. We thought about it for some time and spoke to the Greek Consul General, who was very excited about the idea. We met several times at the Greek Cultural Center and decided to do a program not only for the Greek community but all other communities, and especially for Saudis, to enhance their understanding of the Greek culture.” “It's a very exciting evening for us, as a number of people from different communities are here to enjoy the music,” he added. Earlier, the Consul General of Greece Efthymios Costopoulos, welcomed the guests and remarked that the event was rather exceptional as it had been organized through the voluntary contributions of a lot of musicians from Jeddah, who came together because of their common love for music. “Tonight, we will listen to the great music of Greece played by a multinational orchestra gathered over here,” he remarked in his speech. “Although the name of the event is “It's all Greek to me”, I hope it will be fully understandable to everyone. We organized the event with the cooperation of expatriate musicians living in Jeddah, of which only one is Greek; the rest are of different nationalities. Though they don't understand the language and musical genre, they perform from their hearts and I hope that comes across to the audience too.” He added that the event's aim was to promote Greek culture. “I hope people will come to know more about Greece and its culture in a better way after this concert,” he said. “We have similar events planned for the future, which will also be helpful in developing a stronger bond between Saudi Arabia and Greece.” Bruce Knox from Australia was on the guitar; Christoph Gehring from Switzerland on violin; Corry Moriarty from Canada on vocals and percussion; Courtney Malone from the US on vocals; Ioanna Rigina Karariga from Greece on the flute; Ilona Turek from Poland on the clarinet; Jaein Yoo from South Korea on the piano; Justine Mink from the US on the flute; Lee Staff from Australia on the cello; Nathan Collier from the US on the trumpet; Richard Swann from Australia on the double bass and Wendy Keyes from the US on the violin.
