Prof. Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti speaking at the event.
Doha: The 7th edition of the Katara European Jazz Festival will begin today at the Katara Cultural Village Foundation in cooperation with the embassies of 11 European countries.
In his speech, Prof. Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of the Katara Cultural Village Foundation, expressed his great happiness for the return of the festival in light of the precautionary measures taken by the government.
“The festival is witnessing a remarkable development in its current version, as it was sponsored by the European Union, while in its previous editions it relied only on the participation and sponsorship of embassies, and in this version it hosts the orchestra from France.”
The festival will continue until November 6. It has succeeded in confirming its name as a global artistic event, based on the successes achieved in the previous version, Al Sulaiti said, praising the existing cooperation between Katara, and the European embassies in Qatar.
In turn, the ambassadors thanked Katara for organising the festival, and the sponsors as well, as Ambassador of Spain, H E Beilin Alfaro Hernandez said: “Jazz encompasses very diverse expressions through music. Spain is also a diverse country in terms of cultures and traditions.”
Ambassador of Switzerland, H E Edgar Dörig, thanked Katara and the sponsors and invited the public to attend the event and enjoy the Swiss folk and live electronic music.
Hungarian Ambassador, H E Ferenc Korom, said: “The formation of the group is a prime example of how cooperation among countries brings fruitful results. Growing up in different countries the musicians have diverse backgrounds, however they play together in perfect symphony.”
Ambassador of Poland H E Janusz Janke said: “European Jazz Festival has become one of the most important cultural events that has been organised by European Union National Institutes for Culture Cluster in Doha in collaboration with the Cultural Village Foundation. Poland will be represented by one of the most talented jazz artists of young generation, a phenomenal duet of Monika Borzym and Krzysztof Dys.”
Ambassador of Portugal H E Dr António Alves de Carvalho, said:” I’m looking forward to sharing a little bit of the Portuguese Jazz to the public in Qatar, after one year without the Katara European Jazz Festival we are all very enthusiastic to see everyone together again.”
Ambassador of Italy H E Alessandro Prunas, said: ”We are delighted to welcome back the Katara European Jazz Festival, one of the most attended events in Katara’s multicultural environment, that has been growing over the years in terms of performances and affection of the public,”.
For her part, Ambassador of Greece, H E Heleni Michalopoulou noted: ”The universality of music as a means of communication and understanding will allow the Qatari society to come together and celebrate the return to live cultural events after a long period of pandemic restrictions.”
Ambassador of Germany, H E Dr. Claudius Fischbach said: “It is my pleasure to present a German Jazz band to take part at the 7th Katara European Jazz Festival. I am confident that Jin Jim will enchant the audience in Doha with their innovative mixture of Latin, jazz, and rock”.
The Ambassador of France, H E Jean-Baptiste Faivre stated:” The festival is a precious opportunity to welcome the talented Orchestre National de Jazz, it is our greatest honour to have on stage the 19 musicians of the ensemble.”
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium H E William Asselborn said: “Belgium has played a key role in jazz history: the jazziest instrument, the saxophone, was invented in Belgium by Adolphe Sax and some of the jazz’ biggest names come out of Belgium, including Reinhardt, Toots Thielemans, and Philip Catherine. And this tradition is kept alive by the current generation of artists.”.
As for the Ambassador of Austria, H E Karin Fichtinger-Grohe, said: “Proud that we are again able to showcase the diverse European expressions of jazz.”
