Cape Town orchestra sells out concerts with world music star Maher Zain

He might not be a household name beyond the Islamic world‚ but that hasn’t stopped Maher Zain selling out two concerts in Cape Town this weekend.

Zain will take the stage alongside the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra at Artscape Opera House‚ where the most expensive tickets have been snapped up for R1‚500.

Born in the Lebanon in 1981 and educated in Sweden‚ Zain started his working life as a long-haul truck driver‚ which gave him plenty of time to work on music and lyrics.

Now he’s one of the top world music stars‚ with 26 million Facebook followers‚ 1.7 million on Twitter‚ 2.9 million on Instagram and more than 1.8 billion views on YouTube.

“I have had the pleasure of seeing the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra in concert and it is my honour to have them perform my music with me‚” said Zain.

“This is a unique and world-first collaboration for me and I am so happy that I will share it for the first time with the wonderful audiences in beautiful Cape Town.”

John Walton‚ who orchestrated some of Zain’s songs for the concerts‚ said: “It’s a wonderful opportunity to explore cultural crossover music where the orchestra enhances the colours and nuances of the deeply reverential and moving music of Maher Zain.”

Cape Town Philharmonic CEO Louis Heyneman said: “Showcasing international musicians such as Zain‚ meets the CPO’s goal to expand its reach beyond symphony concerts‚ opera‚ ballet‚ musicals and school concerts to meeting new audiences in cross-over concerts that appeal to a wider spectrum of communities.”

Since 2009‚ when he moved away from the New York R&B scene to embrace his European‚ Arab and Muslim roots‚ Zain has released three albums that have received dozens of platinum awards and topped world music charts.

He sings mainly in English but has also released some of his most popular songs in French‚ Arabic‚ Turkish‚ Malay‚ Urdu and Indonesian versions.

His Cape Town concerts will also feature his own ensemble of musicians from Egypt‚ Spain‚ Lebanon‚ Belgium‚ Netherlands and the UK.