Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Egypt's 1st Woman Composer Awatef Abdel Karim Passes Away


Sat 24 Apr 2021 | 11:45 AM
Rana Atef

Iconic Egyptian composer Awatef Abdel Karim passed away on Saturday at the age of 90.

Abdel Karim was considered the earliest professional woman music composer in Egypt and the Middle East.

Moreover, she was one of the earliest women who mastered music theories and teaching academically, that's why she managed to create well-educated music composers and teachers in the whole region.

The composer created a huge number of theatrical and radio compositions, moreover, she composed a children's music piano album called "Al Aa'zef Al Sagher" (The Young Player).

The late professor contributed to establishing the Department of Music Theory and Composition at The Higher Institute For Music (Conservatoire) in Cairo, and the Department of Music Critique department at the Higher Institue of Artistic Criticism in Cairo.

She also held various prestigious positions such as the Editor in Chief of "Afaq" magazine, the Dean of the Faculty of Music at Helwan University, and the Head of Music, Opera, and Ballet Committee at the Supreme Council of Culture.

Furthermore, Abdel Karim participated in writing the first Arabic Enciclypodia for Musicology.