Solhi Al-Wadi, Syrian music

Maestro Solhi al-Wadi was considered the founder and doyen of Syrian classical music. He had founded the Higher Institute of Music and the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra. Durian his long musical career, he had worked to promote the national music project and the creation of a special privacy for the Syrian music which is still roaming the world achieving a unique presence at the international musical circles. Solhi Al-Wadi was born in Baghdad in 1934 to an Iraqi father and a Jordanian mother who settled in Damascus. After an early childhood spent in Damascus, he was sent to a boarding school in Alexandria then after graduation he continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. On his return to Syria, al-Wadi established the Arab Institute of Music in 1961, becoming its director in 1962, a post he held until 2001. His presentation of Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" in 1995 in the presence of 15,000 spectators at Bosra's amphitheater was considered a major event in Syria 's cultural history. Al-Wadi was awarded the Syrian Order of Merit of the First Class for his services to the cultural and musical life of Syria. In recognition of his services to music in Syria Pope John Paul II also honored al-Wadi with the Medal of St. Peter and St. Paul during his visit to Syria in 2001. Al-Wadi resisted the incurable disease and stood on the stage to lead the Symphony Orchestra but the illness defeated him where he suffered a stroke in 2002.Five years later, on the 30th of September 2007, al-Wadi passed away leaving an important musical heritage.