According to the French newspaper “Journal de Saône-et-Loire,” written by journalist Valentin Baco:
Since September, Osama Mhanna has become the musical director of the Maîtrise Saint-Charles, which can rely on an experienced choir director from Lebanon. And one with a special talent.
The Maîtrise Saint-Charles singers left for Rome very well prepared. Their new musical and artistic director since September 2023 is Osama Mhanna, an orchestra conductor who is only 31 years old but wears many hats. For example, the man who also serves as the choir director of the Ensemble Choral Chalonnais is the assistant musical director of the “Musique au fil de l’Indre” academy. For two years, he has been managing the Ensemble Dynamique, a professional group of singers and musicians focused on producing contemporary music, which he created. Previously, he was selected by Martina Batic, the principal conductor of the Radio France Choir, to work with her. Among his experiences, we can also mention the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France and the Orchestre Mozart de Paris.
“I learned music by ear”
But if this non-exhaustive list does not impress you, perhaps his journey will seem more eloquent to you. Because Osama did not grow up in a musical family, and did not benefit from the advantage of a teacher. This young man of Lebanese origin grew up in Rashaya, a small town very far from the capital, Beirut. There was no music teacher or conservatory. “I discovered music by accident,” the young man recalls. This opportunity happened when he was six years old when his father gave him an electric piano. “I tried playing on my own. I learned by ear until I was able to leave the town to attend university. I was not capable of reading musical notation before.”
By working on the internet alone, Osama was able to prepare, at nearly seventeen years old, for the university entrance exam to study musicology. Before that, he knew nothing about music theory. After graduating, he became a choir director in Beirut. But his desire to master his art took him, at the age of twenty-seven, to France, where he went to study at the École Normale de Paris and the conservatory. At the same time, he took intensive courses at an Italian school, Accademia Direttori di Coro, to specialize in choral conducting.
The Little Prince and Brundibár
The child from Lebanon has become a famous orchestra and choir conductor. The students of Maîtrise Chalonnaise are now benefiting from his selective teaching. “I respect the history of the Maîtrise Saint-Charles by allowing them to sing religious music, but not only that. For example, at the end of the year, we are preparing an opera inspired by Saint-Exupéry’s ‘The Little Prince.’ Or even Brundibár, a children’s opera that was performed in concentration camps during the Second World War. Because music, like Osama, knows no boundaries or horizons.”
