Talented teenager Aseel Al Jabal can take a bow as the youngest violinist to achieve the highest level in a prestigious international music diploma despite a ‘love-hate relationship’ with the instrument during her formative years.
The seventeen-year-old Bahraini started playing at the tender age of four and has just been awarded with a ‘Distinction’ by the Associate of the Royal Schools of Music (ASRM) Violin Diploma Awards. “I received my first violin when I was a small child and it was kind of thrown into music-making at first and I’ve had a love-hate relationship with it growing up,” she told the GDN.
“I just never really wanted to practice it until I started realising it was something I was getting good at. I then started to put more time and effort into it and now playing the violin is something that I truly love.”
Aseel started playing the piano as a toddler but transitioned into playing the violin after being presented with a tailored violin from Romania with her initials carved into it.
The St Christopher’s School student added that some of the challenges she faced was the difficulty in the musical pieces as she progressed into higher grades. With the support of her teachers, such as Nick Smart and her parents, and a sprinkling of natural talent, she overcame all obstacles.
Her elder sister, Sulaf, 18, also plays the piano and they are currently the only students taking Music at A level at school.
“Mr Smart has been my teacher since the age of 12 and he helped change my whole perception regarding what I was creating,” she added. “I remember at first just holding the instrument was a challenge as was learning how to read music.
“And, living in Bahrain, the classical instrument-playing community is quite small so I auditioned for a summer programme at the US Manhattan School of Music in 2019 and that was one of the most amazing experiences in my life.
“Meeting people from all around the world who shared the same passion as me was super cool as there were many people my age who were incredible musicians.”
The ambitious musician, who reached the semi-finals in this year’s renowned regional Young Musicians of the Gulf (YMOG) competition, hopes to pursue a career in music in the film scoring sector. The movie score serves to heighten the emotion of the film, creating an aural mood for each scene, along with sound effects and dialogue.
She is also looking for fellow musicians in Bahrain to perform with in order to add to the range of recorded performances in her portfolio. Her aim is to apply to prestigious international universities such as The Julliard School, the Columbia Barnard Programme, the Columbia Julliard Programme and the Manhattan School for Music.
She also hopes to attend a master’s course in September in Denmark with the Danish String Quartet after auditioning for the class.
“Many younger children have come to me after many school events and I think I’ve become some sort of inspiring model for them and it truly makes me happy,” she added.
“It reminded me from when other schools in the Gulf came to Bahrain every year for the YMOG, as more than 150 musicians would come together, was truly inspirational for me.
“The performances, the competitive atmosphere and the constant preparation was essential and I’m glad to see that my performances now may have influenced younger, aspiring musicians.”
Meanwhile, her proud dad, lawyer Ali, and mum, Zakya Mouissat, said no parental effort was spared to ensure their children pursued their musical passion.
He added that the family home in Saar has been ‘full of music’ for years as both his daughters pursued their artistic journeys.
“When Aseel was awarded with a distinction by ASRM I felt like I was ‘on top of the world’ because this was the result of years of dedication, support, hard work, perseverance, love and patience,” he added.
“We have placed no limits on our daughters’ musical aspirations because they have been ‘A’ students that pursued their passion without allowing it to impact their academic performances. We couldn’t be prouder of them.”
reem@gdnmedia.bh
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