For an hour, the often quiet hall of the Waqif Art Center was throbbing with enchanting music as traveling musicians from the US Air Force Academy Orchestra rendered an amalgam of musical numbers regaling visitors of the Souq on Thursday night. The rare one-night-only performance of the Mirage band saw the wind and percussion octet play a whole range of pop, opera, reggae and rock music to the delight of an audience with diverse numbers which but shared the same love for music. The audience was treated to over a dozen songs included in the band’s repertoire such as ‘Caravan’, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ and ‘Sway’ which was recently popularised by Michael Buble, in which they put their hands together to the captivating beat. An impressive rendition of a new version of the traditional 17th century English ballad Scarborough Fair popularised by Simon and Garfunkel was poignant enough to make the audience dumbstruck as the voice of Nancy, the group’s vocalist, reverberated in the hall. Equally powerful was their last song which communicated the significance of freedom in one’s life. In response to the audience’s demand, the group did an encore playing the song ‘We Are Family’ which capped the night’s memorable show. The Colorado-based group will still be performing in several schools in Doha, Al Khor and Wakrah in the next three days. They are set to perform in Doha Independent School for Boys, Hamad bin Jassim School, Abdulrahman bin Jassim School, and Qatar Leadership Academy. The performances are aimed at encouraging children to express themselves through music. Earlier, they staged a unique collaborative performance with Qatari musicians — oud player Abdulaziz Haidos and master percussionist Ateeq Saeed on tabla —at a show held at American Ambassador Joseph LeBaron’s residence. After Qatar, the group will travel around the GCC and Far Eastern countries. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=April2009&file=Local_News2009041855850.xml

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar