Concert

Youmna Saba

Thursday 07 Nov 2024 from 8:30pm to 9:30pm

Free upon registration

The concert is preceded by a talk with Mohamad Abdouni

© Marc Domage

Lebanese musician and composer Youmna Saba, a key figure in Beirut's alternative music scene, performs in the second half of the evening, extending the discussion with Mohamad Abdouni about his publication Soft Skills - How to Properly Sit on a Chair.

Youmna Saba's musical language is inspired by the city of Beirut and the musicians and artists who constantly push and challenge the boundaries of artistic expression.

Her current research focuses on the relationship between electroacoustic music and the Arabic language in its sung form. These explorations manifest themselves in a variety of projects, from musical composition for her solo project, collaborations and film music to electroacoustic experiments on new devices designed for the voice and her instrument, the oud.

She has performed at the CTM festival in Berlin (2022), the Éclat festival in Stuttgart, the Akademie Der Kunst in Berlin and the Internationales Musikinstitut in Darmstadt with the NeueVocalsolisten ensemble (2021). She has also performed at the Bourse du Commerce in Paris as part of Tarek Atoui's installation (2021), at the Phonetics festival with Stephen O'Malley (2021), at the Zebrures d'Automne festival in Limoges, and at the Gugak Center in Seoul with Kyungso Park and Chang Jaeho, among others.
Youmna Saba is a musician, composer, and musicologist.

Youmna Saba's current research deals with the relationship between electroacoustic music and the Arabic language in its sung form. These explorations manifest themselves in various projects, ranging from musical composition for her solo project, collaborations, and film music to electroacoustic experiments on new devices designed for voice and her instrument, the oud. 

She has notably performed at the CTM festival in Berlin (2022), the Éclat festival in Stuttgart, the Akademie Der Kunst in Berlin, and the Internationales Musikinstitut in Darmstadt with the NeueVocalsolisten ensemble (2021).

Youmna Saba also appeared at the Bourse du Commerce in Paris as part of Tarek Atoui’s installation (2021), the Phonetics festival with Stephen O’Malley (2021), the Zebrures d’Automne festival in Limoges, and the Gugak Center in Seoul with Kyungso Park and Chang Jaeho, among others. She took part in several collaborative projects, including Terra Incognita with Kamilya Jubran and Floy Krouchi (2020-ongoing).  

She is the laureate of the first sound residency at the Musée du Quai Branly with her project “La Réserve des Non-Dits” (2022-2024) and has participated in artist residencies at the Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris 2020-2021), Sharjah Art Foundation (2021), Voce CNCM (2020), GMEM (2020), Césaré CNCM (2020-2021), Hwaeom Spiritual Music Residency (South Korea, 2017), Sound Development City (Spain, Morocco, 2016), and Gyeonggi Creation Center (South Korea, 2013).

Her fifth solo album, “Wishah,” was released on the label Touch in 2023.

She holds a Master’s degree in musicology from Antonine University in Lebanon.