Today we’d like to introduce you to Réya Wahab.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Réya. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a composer, conductor and violinist from Beirut, Lebanon. When I was about seven years old, I picked up the violin and was learning music informally at home and at age nine, I joined the Lebanese Conservatory to study music formally. I had always been a music lover since my mom would always play Lebanese and classical music growing up. I then entered the Lebanese National Conservatory of music and joined the children’s orchestra. My second passion, besides music, was and has always been film and theatre. I am a huge fan of Tim Burton and watched all of his films countless times. I loved the stories, the animations, the symbols, and especially the music. At that point, I decided that my two passions fit very well if I studied both together in film music. After high school, I attended the Lebanese American University to major in Film and theatre studies. During that time, I spent most of my time in the theatre and in my final year there, I presented my theatre adaptation for Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride”. I wrote arrangements to Danny Elfman’s music in the “Corpse Bride” and I adapted the film for theatre and presented it at the Lebanese Theatre Festival.
Meanwhile, I continued my studies in the Lebanese National Conservatory. I had only been studying Classical music at the Conservatory but something kept pulling me towards Middle Eastern music. It was so charming and I loved and listened to it so much so I decided to join the students’ Middle Eastern orchestra that was directed by Fady Yaacoub and Antoine Khalife. After I graduated from LAU, I attended my dream university “Berklee College of Music” to major in Film Scoring. I learned so much at Berklee and I met so many inspiring and amazing people. I initially wanted to do also do a minor in musical theatre conducting but I then switched to contemporary classical conducting to study with Julius P. Williams. After graduating this past December 2019, I finally moved to Los Angeles to pursue my career in film scoring industry.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course, there are always struggles along the way, but I would rather always focus on the positives and the opportunities I received. And one of them is my family, as they have always been the greatest support system and they helped me in every way they could to reach my goals and dreams.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
As a composer that is Classically trained but also born and raised in Lebanon, a lot of my music has influences from Lebanon and from Middle Eastern music. I am highly influenced by my heritage and that comes very clearly through my pieces. I recently released a piece that is a tribute to the Lebanese revolution of October 17, 2019. That piece is for a symphony orchestra and a daff (a Middle Eastern percussion instrument) and I think you can hear the influences in that as well.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I feel like my ability to blend different genres of music is one of my strengths. Also, my knowledge of the film and theatre industry as a whole has helped me a lot. I have been fortunate to learn and take part in several short film and theatre projects in different aspects, and I think that has given me a wider understanding of the industry as a whole which helps my music writing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.reyawahab.com
- Phone: 8574004342
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: are_doubleyou
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reyawahabmusic/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI8NGfm2I_o_8SS82ui_YDQ
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
