Ihab Darwish is an Emirati music composer. He received his Bachelors in Advertising and Art Design from the Lebanese American University in Beirut. Darwish has been playing music since the age of ten, and grew up in a family that supported his passion for music and composing. Years after graduation, Darwish designed and created his own home recording studio equipped with state of the art instruments and technology. He experimented with music for years, working mainly in the genre of classical music.

In 2017 Darwish’s music was performed by the Beethoven Academy Orchestra in Poland, recorded in the renowned Alvernia Studios. For the first time his music was played by an orchestra of more than 140 musicians and represented a pivotal moment in his career. His first album was launched in early 2018 and distributed across international digital music platforms by Universal Music MENA.

To Stream & Download ‘Waves Of My Life’ album, please choose digital music platform:

Darwish’s music is a blend of classical and contemporary, scored in melodic and cinematic orchestration. Darwish believes in the vibrant achievements of Emirati cultural production, which heralds ever greater levels of achievement and garners increasing recognition worldwide. Darwish represents the avant-garde of Emirati creative expression. “Waves of My Life” is the perfect marriage of East and West. Darwish has infused his heritage and personal history with the tradition of classical orchestral music and this exclusive, historical performance offers a new experience for all music lovers.

After years of preparation, Ihab Darwish debuted his first complete orchestral work, Waves of My Life: Every Real Story Begins with a Note, with a world premiere performance at Abu Dhabi Festival on March 14th, 2018 at Emirates Palace, captivating the audience with a high class symphonic and cinematic concert. In March 2018, he received the title of “The First Guest Composer” of the Beethoven Academy Orchestra.

Ihab Darwish about his music: Waves of My Life signifies the harmony between ups and downs, noise and silence, a pluck on a violin chord and a sharp staccato on a snare drum, it basically illustrates highlights of my life through symphonic pieces of euphonic melodies. Every piece of music in the album has its own theme and expressive identity, it is an international blend of music which exhibits my pride in Arabesque melodies and my awe towards western orchestrations, sailing with your imagination in a cinematic voyager, proving that music will always be a universal language.

Album  “Waves of My Life. Every real story begins with a note” (2018) contains nine musical pieces:

1. Beyond Limits – Abu Dhabi Renaissance
2. Chords of Reverie
3. Desert Knight
4. Lawlaki (Feat. Sammy Clark)
5. The Euphony
6. Arabesco
7. Waves of My Life
8. She
9. Lawlaki (Instrumental)

Darwish’s music combines the tradition and modernity style, big patriotic themes with intimate and personal pieces. His music is strongly embedded in Emirati values and traditions and addresses a number of themes including the hero of our nation Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Renaissance, the vital role of women in societies, self-improvement, humanity and romance. Each pieces is centered around profound human experiences, such as nostalgia for the past, love, pride and strong bond to his beloved homeland. At the same time, the music speaks beyond its discipline and beyond a local context.

The musical performance includes the masterpiece as: “Lawlaki”- in this piece Darwish relied on romantic tunes of symphonic character, as its lyrics written by poet Ghazi Murad and performed by legendary singer Sammy Clark, reflect the importance of women in life as a source of compassion and affection. “Desert Knight” is a biographical song that depicts the life of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It is composed by Darwish to underline the importance of loyalty and sense belonging to the homeland. The song sheds the light on the achievements of Sheikh Zayed, the founding leader of the United Arab Emirates. “Abu Dhabi Renaissance” is a piece that showcases the beauty, brilliance and development of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi over the last decades yet still maintains its traditions and rich Arabian culture. The track blends oriental with western spirit, as Darwish believes the local heritage is a prominent theme of the typical Emirati capital.

H.E. Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, founder of Abu Dhabi Music and Art Foundation: “Emirati composer Ihab Darwish represents the avant-garde of Emirati creative expression, so it is fitting that he should make his worldwide debut at ADF. We consider this a milestone moment in Abu Dhabi Music and Art Foundation mission and vision to bolster the UAE’s rich cultural landscape. Waves of My Life is the perfect marriage of East and West. Darwish has infused his heritage and personal history with the tradition of classical orchestral music and this exclusive, historical performance offered a new experience for all music lovers”.

This is the first project of this kind implemented between Poland and the United Arab Emirates. We are very proud that Ihab Darwish together with Nahda Foundation managed to bring such partners to work on different level of Polish-Emirati cooperation in the field of culture. We are convinced that Ihab’s beautiful music will touch many hearts.