By Emb Hashmi
The Egyptian capital of Cairo plays host to an extraordinary and outstanding Orchestra, the only difference between these musical maestros and they’re competitors is that every single member is blind.
The El Nour Wal Amal Association who manages the all-female blind Orchestra, offers free educational programs and vocational training to over 300 blind women and girls.
“El Nour Wal Amal Light and Hope Association were founded in 1954 as the first Centre in the Middle East for the education, vocational training care and integration into society for the blind girls and women,” vice President Aman Fikry said.
Members of Cairo’s Egyptian Blind Girls Chamber Orchestra rehearse the songs by reading the music sheet in Braille.
Shaimaa Yehia, member of the blind orchestra explains the process of learning a piece while being visually impaired.
“First we learn how to read the notes in Braille, and we learn each symbol, each musical symbol in Braille. Then we learn how to read the note, then we memorise every note depending on its difficulty we memorise fast or slow.”
The Orchestra face many challenges including mastering the tempo and when to start because they cannot see the conductor who manages the orchestra.
Fikry said “They have to memorize everything and then they do not have a maestro. The maestro only tells them to start”.
The visually impaired ladies are delighted with their achievements and endeavor to develop with every concert.
Marwa Solieman, a blind violinist from the orchestra said “Abroad we represent Egypt and we represent the Arab world, so we are representatives of our country.
Aman Fikry the Association’s vice president hopes the orchestra’s success and encourages the international recognition received.
The all-female visually impaired orchestra has already performed in five continents and in 24 countries.
