Meet B.M.A. in Music Performance Alumni
“Thank you, AUC!” - Nesma Mahgoub (grad. 2013)
The Arab world was introduced to Nesma Mahgoub’s electrifying voice and stage presence in 2011 when she became the first Egyptian female artist to win Star Academy Arabia (Season 8). Her stellar talent and unique vision continue to inspire music lovers both near and far. She is a Cairo-born singer, actress, dancer, musician, and educator who graduated with a B.M.A. in Music Performance (specialization in Voice) and a minor in Theatre.
She seems to effortlessly manage the extraordinary feat of singing in Arabic, English, Italian, French, German, Latin, and even Hindi. Similarly, she is at home in musical styles as diverse as Oriental, pop, rock, opera, early music, musical theater, and more. She recorded various songs for film and TV. Most notably, she dubbed and sang the Arabic part of Queen Elsa in Disney’s Frozen films.
Virtuosity and diversity are the hallmarks of Nesma’s career as an educator and performer. Nesma wanted to ‘give back’ to her alma mater by creating and directing some of AUC’s most innovative ensembles. Her talent, mastery, and unique teaching approach have inspired an increasing number of aspiring students to get on stage and sing their hearts out. To date, she directs the Pop Ensemble. She also teaches Singers on Stage and Private Lessons in Voice. The Pop Ensemble is a vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of popular music. A caPop, the name of the Pop Ensemble’s end-of-semester show, consistently culminates in spectacular, standing-room-only performances! Singers on Stage is another of Nesma’s conceptions in which she guides singers toward successful and genuine performances. [MOU3]
Nesma has performed in several operas and musical theater productions like AUC productions, Dido & Aeneas and The Telephone, as well Fabrica productions, Les Miserables and Ellela Elkebira. Fabrica is a pioneering Egyptian musical theater company founded by Dr. Neveen Allouba. Nesma starred opposite famous actor, Kamal Abu Raya, in the contemporary Arabic musical Donia Habibty. The musical showcases her talents as a singer, actress, and dancer and was directed by Galal El Sharkawy.
Nesma’s constant curiosity about and mastery of diverse musical styles and performance mediums is rooted in a profound dedication to art. Her dedication to teaching is proving to be equally as powerful! - By Chelsea Green
“Art is not only for people who have money. I want it to be for everyone.” - Rita Ashkar (grad. 2017)
Rita Ashkar is an Egyptian soprano who double majored in Music Performance (specialization in Voice) and Economics. She discovered her passion for singing when she was 12 years old, and it didn’t end there. For her, art is ”like air” in the sense that one needs it to live. Art can also be “a quick medicine for anything.” Rita never stopped pursuing a career in music even though she was constantly being told that she wouldn’t make as much money as an architect or a doctor.
Rita is currently completing a master's degree in Vocal Pedagogy at Hochschule für Musik Detmold in Germany and a bachelor of arts of Konzert/Opera. Rita has been part of Egypt’s singing group Fabrica, led by Dr. Neveen Allouba since 2012. Fabrica inspired a love of musical theater. It also gave Rita the opportunity to tour with the group in New York, Boston, Vermont and Washington DC, in the Arabic version of Les Miserables.
Her next goal is to establish an institution that teaches all kinds of art, from singing to painting. Rita believes that there is a strong need for more institutions of this type throughout the Middle East which is why she is driven to come back to Egypt and make a change in how society, on a large scale, perceives art. - By Khaldoun Abou Dargham
