Dima Orsho ديما اورشو | |
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| Born | 1975 Damascus,Syria |
| Origin | Syria |
| Genres | World music,Arabic music,contemporary classical music |
| Occupation(s) | singer, composer |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Dreyer Gaido, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi |
| Member of | Hewar Ensemble |
| Website | www |
Dima Orsho (Arabic:ديما اورشو; b. 1975,Damascus,Syria) is a Syrian-Americanmezzosoprano singer and composer. She studied first at theDamascus Higher Institute for Music and later at theBoston Conservatory at Berklee. Since 2003, she has been a member of the SyrianHewar ensemble, alongsideKinan Azmeh,Issam Rafea and others. In July 2022, Orsho sang and played the role of the prisoner Fatma in the premiere ofBushra El-Turk's multi-media operaWoman at Point Zero at theAix-en-Provence Festival in France.
As guest artist, she has been associated withYo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble,Tina Turner, theMorgenland Festival All Star Band or theBaroque music ensembleMusica Alta Ripa. Orsho performs in various musical styles, ranging fromArabic poetic songs or lullabies to world music and jazz-inspiredscat singing. Performing with different musical groups, she has given concerts in the Middle East, Europe and the US, among others at theElbphilharmonie and theBarenboim-Said Academy[1] in Germany, theMillennium Stage at the Kennedy Centre and theLibrary of Congress in the US, theOpéra Bastille andThéâtre de la Ville in Paris, theBimhuis Amsterdam and theCentre for Fine Arts in Brussels.[2]
In 1993 Orsho began her studies as asoprano singer and clarinet player at the Damascus Higher Institute for Music under the direction of composerSolhi al-Wadi. After her graduation, she performed with theSyrian National Symphony Orchestra at the Damascus Opera House, before moving to the United States to study classical singing at theBoston Conservatory, where she earned her master's degree in opera performance.[3]
In Damascus, she joinedKinan Azmeh on the clarinet and Issam Rafea on theoud as well as other musicians of theworld music ensembleHewar in 2003. They have recorded three albums, includingLetters to a Homeland. Further, she recordedArabic poetry set to music by the Syrian pianistGaswan Zerikly on their albumArabic Lieder. In 2017 Orsho was a guest artist on the albumSing Me Home byYo-Yo Ma and theSilk Road Ensemble, which was named best world music album at the59th Grammy Awards.[4]
In 2019, she released her solo albumHidwa - Lullabies for Troubled Timeswith traditionallullabies from Syria andAzerbaijan, as well as compositions byManuel de Falla, Gabriel Asa'ad and herself.[5] The same year, she went on tour with the Spanish sopranoNuria Rial and the German EnsembleMusica Alta Ripa, with the release of the albumMother: Baroque Arias and Arabic Songs.[6]
At the annualMorgenland Festival inOsnabrück, Germany, she has appeared frequently, both as singer as well as teacher for workshops. With the Morgenland All Star Band and the Morgenland Festival Orchestra, she performed both in Germany, the Netherlands and in Lebanon.[7] In 2015, Orsho first sang in a chamber music production of Kinan Azmeh's song cycleSongs for Days to Come inBrooklyn, New York City.[8] At the Morgenland Festival in June 2022, Orsho appeared in theoperatic version of this cycle of songs and poems based on theSyrian civil war.[9] In a review of thispremiere, her dramatic lament after an explosion at the main character’s wedding party was called "especially captivating".[10]
At theAix-en-Provence Festival in July 2022, Orsho sang and played the role of the prisoner Fatma inBushra El-Turk's multi-media operaWoman at Point Zero, based on thenovel of the same name by Egyptian feminist writerNawal El Saadawi.[11] Commenting on her different singing styles, ranging from lyrical mezzosoprano to improvised jazz techniques, her interpretation expressed the different aspects of the character and thecontemporary classical character of this worldpremiere.[12] During 2023, this work was also performed in Belgium, Luxemburg, Spain and at theRoyal Opera London's Engender Festival.[13] In March 2025, Orsho participated in a new work composed by Bushra El-Turk and based on a libretto byWajdi Mouawad. Referring both to Mouawad's own biography as well as a well-known song byUmm Kulthum, this music theatre production was titledOum – A Son’s Quest for His Mother and premiered at theDutch National Opera house inAmsterdam.[14]
As a composer, Orsho has also written soundtracks for short films and feature films:Under The Ceiling (2005) was directed by Nidal Al-Debs,[15] and the documentary movie"A Comedian in a Syrian Tragedy" (2019) about the life in exile of Syrian actorFares Helou was directed by Rami Farah.[16]
with Hewar:
with Morgenland All Star Band:
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