By Salma Atta
UNIVERSITY CITY, SHARJAH – American University of Sharjah’s College of Arts and Sciences Performing Arts Program held a virtual Student Piano Recital on April 13.
The program presented an evening of contemporary and classical piano pieces played by AUS students from the applied lessons courses.
The half-hour event featured pianists Ahlam Bin Bahar, Jiyayi Rao, Katia Kanakri, Nasreen AlShamsi, and Yara Elenany.
Bahar opened the recital by performing Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk.” The Grammy-winning piece was written in 1961 for the film “Hatari.”
Rao, a psychology major undergraduate, played “Jingo” by composer Christopher Norton. Kanakri followed by playing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” The classic folk-rock song was released in 1984.
In her second performance, Bahar played “God Help the Outcasts” by composer Alan Menken. Afterward, Rao played the popular 2013 “Let it Go.” The piece was composed by the couple Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez for Disney’s blockbuster movie “Frozen.”
AlShamsi and Elnany played a “Whole New World” and “One Jump Ahead” from “Aladdin.”
To round off the evening, AlShamsi played Franz Liszt’s 19th century “Étude en Douze Exercises No. 9.”
The live event took place on the program’s YouTube channel at 7 p.m.
