ALKHOBAR: Fresh from performances in Riyadh and Jeddah, the Concert Impromptu, a classical ensemble made up of French musicians that was established in 1991, journeyed into Alkhobar on Saturday for the final stop on a tour presenting a program designed specially for children. 

There was a palpable energy at the concert, which was held at the newly opened Saudi Music Hub space, a colorful cluster of buildings near the corniche. 

Yves Charpentier played the flute; Violaine Dufes the oboe; Jean Christophe Murer the clarinet; Emilien Drouin the French horn; and Vincent Legoupil the bassoon.

They started with Mozart, who had famously started off composing as a child, and then went on to other classical compositions that they joked were possibly something the audience had heard previously only as somebody’s ringtone.

The audience was mostly made up of parents with young children.

One such attendee was Abul Fahimuddin, who recently moved to Dhahran with his wife, Joana Macutkevic, and their two young daughters. As soon as he heard about the concert, he immediately signed them all up.

“Me and my family have just arrived from Norway several months (ago) … we came to know there is a music concert. We're very keen on what’s happening in the Alkhobar area because we’re living here in Aramco Camp,” Fahimuddin told Arab News.

His two daughters, dressed in pretty blue and white dresses, were plainly delighted to be there.

“I’m excited to see what instruments will be played and how the theater will look. I used to play piano but because of (the pandemic), I had to stop my piano lessons,” Kaja, 11, told Arab News before the show. 

Stella, 8, who likes to sing, was giddy. “I’m also excited — like Kaja,” Stella said. “Now in my school, we started to play the xylophone.”

The Fahimuddin family came to the concert to enjoy the experience, but also with the aim to connect with other families that have recently arrived in the Kingdom and to be part of the budding creative community in the area. 

“Music is a universal language; we don’t need to speak the same language to enjoy and feel the same atmosphere and the vibe,” Macutkevic told Arab News. “And, for the girls, hopefully the concert will make them more curious about the instruments and about the music,” she added. 

Each musician took the time to playfully interact with the audience, and took the time to ask and answer questions and to explain what each instrument was and how to play it.

While the musicians played as an ensemble, they also had solo parts and, at the end, Dufes took the lead, instructing the audience to snap their fingers, clap and make specific sounds while her fellow musicians played along.

“Now you are all musicians,” she told the crowd at the end, to roars of laughter. 

The event was organized by Alliances Francaises in partnership with the French Embassy in Saudi Arabia and other French organizations.

RIYADH: Saudi Aramco raised June’s official selling price for the flagship Arab light crude it sells to Asia, according to an official statement.

Differentials for the flagship Arab Light grade were priced at Platts Dubai/DME Oman +$2.90 per barrel, up from +$2 a barrel in April.

This was the highest OSP in five months and largely in line with expectations, based on a firmer market structure and higher spot premiums last month for tradable Middle East grades such as Oman, Al Shaheen and Upper Zakum.

The higher OSPs also came after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, maintained the first quarter round of voluntary cuts into the second quarter, while the global crunch on supplies of sour crude also underpinned Middle East grades.

Arab Medium was increased by $1 per barrel to +$2.35 per barrel, while Arab Heavy was hiked $1.10 a barrel to +$1.60 per barrel.

For Northwest Europe, the Arab Light OSP was set +$2.10 per barrel over ICE Brent futures, up from +$0.30/b while Medium was hiked from minus $0.40/b to +$1.10/b. Both grades were hiked to reflect the relative weakness in Brent compared to sour barrels.

Arab Light for April to the US Gulf was kept unchanged at +$4.75 per barrel over ASCI, while Medium was at +$5.45/b and Heavy at +$5.10/b, respectively, both slightly lower on the month.