Rakia Nasr (Tunisia) - Octaviens (Germany)

The “Young Virtuosos at Ennejma Ezzahra” festival aims to offer both Tunisian and expatriate audience, an opportunity to discover accomplished performers, aged under twenty five, who have won national and international competitions.

Since its inception in 2006, the festival has featured scores of budding musicians from East and West and particularly Tunisian young talents who are today among the most sought after musicians on the local music scene.

Young Virtuosos 9th Edition

First part

Rakia Nasr (Tunisia)

After studying for three years at the regional conservatory in Kebili and obtaining her baccalaureate, Rakia Nasr choose to continue her graduate studies at the Sousse Higher Institute of Music (Institut Supérieur de Musique de Sousse), which proved to be a natural orientation choice for her. She was quickly spotted by her professors (notably Iteb Jlaili, professor of singing and vocals) who noticed her smooth voice and her exquisite tone, matching remarkably the interpretation of adwâr and qâsid from the first half of the 20th century, although these are considered one of the most difficult forms to be performed. She received several national and regional awards, for example at the « Young Talents » festival in 2010 and 2011, where she was accompanied by an Arab music orchestra from the Sousse Higher Institute of Music. She also received the Second Prize of the 2014 Sfax Student Arab Music Festival.

Rakia Nasr will be accompanied by Yassin Ben Miloud (violin), Adel Misaoui (cello), Mohamed Kadhoum (percussions) and Itel Jlaili (oud).

Second Part

A cappella ensemble Octaviens (Germamy)

The a capella ensemble Octaviens of Jena (Germanty) was founded in 2006 by active members of the Children’s choir of the Iena philharmonic orchestra. The group presented several national and international concerts in England, Spain, Sweden, Italy, France and Switzerland.

In May 2010, the choir members received the award of the «Jugend musiziert» national contest. Around the end of the same year, the acapella group recorded its first album entitled "Auftakt" at the Marienkirche of Ziegenhain. In 2011, Octaviens gained international recognition by winning the Second Prize at the "Vokal total" festival at Graz.

Nowadays, Octaviens is part of the most popular a capella groups in Thuringia. Its members are renowned for their versatility and their control in terms of vocal balance in front of big audiences, but also in small settings.