The National Music Band
The National Music Band is a Saudi national music ensemble that represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in music forums locally and internationally. It was established in 2019 as one of the initiatives of the Ministry of Culture aimed at achieving Saudi Arabia's cultural strategy of promoting cultural awareness as a lifestyle, and it is under the supervision of the Music Commission.
Qualifying program for the National Music Band
The Music Commission provides training programs for Saudi professional musicians to join the National Music Band in several cities, including Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. These programs train them on musical instruments such as the violin, cello, double bass, oud, qanun, flute, saxophone, bass guitar, electric guitar, keyboard, oriental rhythm instruments and drums.
Among the tracks of the training programs are stringed instruments, percussion instruments, and wind instruments. Applicants are trained to play collectively within a band, learn the basics of western music only on western instruments, and learn the basics of eastern music for oriental instruments. When the trainees pass the program, they become a part of the National Music Band.
Conditions for joining the National Music Band
The National Music Band supports Saudi talents to consolidate the Saudi musical heritage and promote it internationally. Its work is supervised by the Saudi Musician Dr. Abdulrab Idrees. The Music Commission has set conditions for joining the band, including participating with one instrument if the musician is able to play more than one instrument, participants are between 23-40 years of age and have experience in playing, performing, and singing. Also, submitting a two-minute video recorded in high quality and with a clear sound, which demonstrates playing solo on the instrument.
International Participation of the National Music Band
The National Music Band participates in international music forums. Among its participations was a concert organized by the Music Commission on October 7, 2022 at the Salle du Châtelet in the French capital, Paris, under the title “Marvels of Saudi Music.” The event featured the Saudi National Band and Choir alongside the French Philharmonic Orchestra, marking the first Arab participation on the Châtelet stage with a combined performance between an Arab Saudi band and a French orchestra. The performance included the Philharmonic Orchestra together with twenty-two musicians and forty singers from the Saudi National Band.
Another participation of the band was a musical performance on October 28, 2022 as part of the Arab Music Festival and Conference in Cairo, Egypt. The performance combined national songs with a medley of Saudi folk, classical, and modern songs, featuring sixteen musicians and the Saudi choir.