Ayoub Sisters: First Egyptian Females to Compete with Andrea Bocelli

Laura and Sarah Ayoub, Egyptian/Scottish classical musicians, recently hit the top charts in the iTunes Classical Album billboards with their album The Ayoub Sisters. Born to Egyptian parents and raised near Glasgow, this dynamic duo grew up listening to classical and Arabic music from a very young age. While kids were going to playdates, the Ayoub sisters were attending classical music concerts. They started playing together since early childhood, with Laura on the violin and Sarah on the cello. We talked to them about their favorite Arab singers, connection to Egypt, and competing with the legendary Andrea Bocelli.

 

“We will be collaborating with the fantastic Cairo Celebration Choir in a concert celebrating world music. The concert will take place on May 11^th in the Marquee”

“To be nominated for an award alongside prolific artists such as Andrea Bocelli, André Rieu, Nicola Benedetti and Ji Liu is unbelievable, and something that we are extremely proud of. These artists are masters in their field, and musicians we have looked up to since we were kids,” they say.

Our minds are set on a misconception that classical music is connected with the opera and the “elite” who can afford music lessons. “We feel that the real issue is classical instruments being accessible to all people, from an early age. Our experience with sharing classical music with young people has been extremely positive. When young people are given a quality and up-close experience of classical music, it helps to break down the barriers associated with the genre, and makes the music more inclusive,” they explain.

“We have recently enjoyed forming an Arabic quartet that allows us to cover music performed by greats such as Abdel Halim, Fayrouz and even Amr Diab, truly paying tribute to our Egyptian heritage.”

Like any Egyptian kids, Arabic music was a vital part of the Ayoub sisters’ musical upbringing. “We have recently enjoyed forming an Arabic quartet that allows us to cover music performed by greats such as Abdel Halim, Fayrouz and even Amr Diab, truly paying tribute to our Egyptian heritage. We were also happy to include two tracks with an Arabic flavour on our debut album,” they say.

 

“As Egyptian women we realise that we are a unique case, as many families coming from an Egyptian background do not encourage the arts, especially music. When an individual has support and encouragement from their family, there is no limit to what can be achieved.”

There are many challenges the music industry presents to emerging artists, regardless of their gender. “As Egyptian women we realise that we are a unique case, as many families coming from an Egyptian background do not encourage the arts, especially music. When an individual has support and encouragement from their family, there is no limit to what can be achieved. Thankfully, we have very supportive parents that have helped us,” they say.

When they are not practicing or recording spectacular music, The Ayoub sisters love listening to jazz, hip-hop, rap and Arabic music. “There are several Egyptian artists we look up to, such as Omar Khairat, Ramzy Yassa and Fatma Said. We must also admit that we are huge fans of Amr Diab!” they say.

Speaking about their upcoming projects here in Cairo, “We will be collaborating with the fantastic Cairo Celebration Choir in a concert celebrating world music. The concert will take place on May 11^th in the Marquee. We will be returning in 2019 to collaborate with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, performing our album live at the Cairo Opera House,” they say.

Being an amazing female power duo we had to ask them: what do women want? “We feel that women want a chance to be taken seriously and treated equally. As Egyptian women we feel a sense of pride, but more than ever, a sense of responsibility to symbolise to young Egyptian women that absolutely anything is possible with the right attitude, work ethic and determination,” they say.

Check out their Website.