The diverse sounds of cinema, video games and far-reaching cultures come together in one powerhouse performer, Hayat Selim. The Egyptian-born composer, vocalist, and songwriter travels to Australia for the first time with Mirage, coming to The Street Theatre on Thursday 16 February.
Mirage is a collection of original works from Selim’s impressive career with pieces she has composed for film, video games, and museum immersion, as well as covers. The musician beautifully and seamlessly flows through languages like Arabic, English, ancient Egyptian, Spanish, Italian, and old Irish in this deep, rich performance.
“The songs have many messages on the subjects of women’s rights and empowerment, the importance of tolerance, diversity, and inclusion, solidarity with conflict-affected countries, odes and appreciation to old empires such as Ancient Egypt,” says Selim.
A love of music has followed Selim throughout her life, being the one activity she was constantly drawn to. Her school put a strong emphasis on the importance of music, with classes being mandatory until high school. The songstress began composing and signwriting in her teens turning poems she had written into musical odes.
“I was told that as a baby I would be very intrigued by music and rhythm and automatically would start dancing,” she says.
Beginning an engineering degree, Selim never stopped creating music, and in 2011 decided that would be her profession. She continued with her science studies but added composition, music theory, singing, and piano. Torn between singing and composition, a bout of illness saw Selim pursue film scoring, something that would ultimately open many doors, including singing opportunities.
“It has been a very interesting journey that taught me so much about being flexible and having faith that the right thing will happen at the right time,” she says.
Bringing Selim to Canberra is Music Theatre Projects, led by Canberra multi-disciplinary performer and creative, Diana Nixon. Thrilled to bring the performer to her only Australian stop, Nixon will accompany Selim on the piano in Mirage. She says it is great to see Canberra leading the way with this kind of performance.
“Her career is very, very unique in that she’s making her way as a female in the composition world for film and game, which I’m sure you can imagine is a male-dominated industry,” Nixon says.
Hayat Selim and Diana Nixon perform Mirage at The Street Theatre, Thursday 16 February 7.30pm; thestreet.org.au
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