Additional Information
Accompanied by the riqq and the qanun, Maryem Tollar showcases a vocal artistry shaped by years of training under the great masters of classical Arabic song, ranging from Syrian muwashahat to devotional Sufi melodies. Her voice, at once precise and soulful, carries the legacy of an Orient that refuses to remain stuck in the past.
Surrounding her, Ernie Tollar on wind instruments, Waleed Abdulhamid on bass, Omneya Tollar on backing vocals, and Jaash Singh on percussion weave together a repertoire in which original compositions and great Arab classics intertwine—from sacred chants to popular melodies from the golden age of Egyptian music.
For one evening, Montreal becomes Al Qahwa, where people come—just as they did in the past—to listen to the world tell its stories through music. Voices echo one another, instruments engage in a dialogue, and in this suspended moment, each listener, for the duration of a song, grows a little closer to the others. Our journalist Juliana Cortes spoke with Maryem Tollar for PANM360 just a few days before the highly anticipated concert.
