The Baxter is proud to present Egyptian song sensation and former Rolex protégée, Dina Elwedidi in Concert, for two performances only on Friday, 30 September, and Saturday 1 October 2022, at 8.15pm.
For the first time in South Africa, the singer and composer, comes to The Baxter with her unique style, fusing local oriental and global styles of music. She is joined on the Baxter Concert Hall stage, with an ensemble of six accomplished musicians.
Dina was chosen in 2012 by renowned Brazilian music icon Gilberto Gil to spend an extended mentoring period with him as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative. Together they performed in Egypt and Italy, as well as at Back2Black as part of the London 2012 Festival. Dina also met her mentor while touring in the United States, Switzerland and Brazil.
Dina was one of the more than 200 renowned artists and arts leaders from South Africa and around the world who gathered at the Baxter Theatre Centre on 8 and 9 February 2020, to attend the prestigious Rolex Arts Weekend.
For more than half a century Rolex has supported some of the world’s most talented artists and leading cultural institutions to help perpetuate artistic heritage and create a link between the past, present and future. This long-term commitment to global culture extends through music, architecture and cinema, along with the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.
Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative
Established in 2002 to assist in the transfer of knowledge from one generation of artists to the next, the mentoring programme is based on the belief that art is a continuum, an accumulation of past experiences over generations, and that all artists are inspired by those who went before them.
In keeping with the Rolex tradition of encouraging individual excellence, younger artists of exceptional promise – the protégés – are given the rare opportunity to spend significant periods of time in creative exchange with world-renowned artists in their particular field – the mentors – on a one-to-one basis.
After graduating with a degree in Oriental Literature from Cairo University in 2008, Dina discovered her passion for music when she joined El Warsha Theater Troupe where she learned to sing a wide variety of traditional genres with the help of her tutor Maged Soliman.
She left El Warsha to explore the full potential of her voice and has since partaken in various projects with international artists such as American violinist, Chelsea Green, Grammy-award winning Egyptian musician Fathy Salama and Kamilya Jubran to name a few.
In 2011 she founded her own band, focusing on singing and composing and went on to represent Egypt in The Nile Project in 2012, a musical collaboration bringing together 14 musicians from different African countries. It was an initiative that introduces and exposes bordering audiences to the cultures and music of their neighbours along the river.
A growing project
Dina released her first album in 2014 called Tadewar w Tergaa (or Turning Back) and her second in 2018 called Slumber, which relied on the sounds of the train stations as the background for her album. In 2019 Dina was chosen as one of Time Magazine’s Next Generation Leaders noting that Dina “draws from history to inspire change for the future.”
She describes her all Egyptian ensemble as a ‘growing project’, having performed with her over the last two years. They are Ayman Mabrouk on percussion, Hussein Elsherbini on electric guitar, Mostaga Elkerdani on drums, Mounir Abdou on bass guitar, Reda Moustafa on saxophone and Yasser Hasheesh on guitar.
During this time the Egyptian artist and her colleagues will also conduct a workshop on oriental and Egyptian rhythmic music and music production.
Dina Elwedidi in Concert will be on at the Baxter Concert Hall on 30 September and 1 October 2022, at 8.15pm. Tickets are R150 and R100 for students and block bookings. Booking is through Webtickets online or at Pick n Pay stores.
