Yana Mann: Building a classical music scene from the ground up

In 2014 I finished my studies in Moscow, married, and moved to Dubai for my husband’s job while expecting a child. For me, I anticipated this moment as a new adventure and a chance to experience the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

In my first years in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), there was a minimal number of international musicians, and the classical scene was thin on content. Very few people were involved in the classical world, so I found it frustrating as I sought to expand and grow. In comparison to other cities around the world, it was difficult to find opportunities to develop myself. I continued to train with my London based vocal teacher Sandra Ford, online and during visits to the UK while I continued to commute back and forth to perform at different arts events. During this time, I felt that the only way to continue to create and collaborate with high level talent while being based in Dubai, I had to travel internationally.

However, as I settled in Dubai I found that I couldn’t be connected to an institution or an Opera house, as they didn’t exist. In hindsight this lack of support encouraged me to experiment and develop new visions for classical concepts and further collaboration and meant I was freer to become more connected to the fast-paced creative scene that was growing in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. During this flourishing time, the UAE saw more creatives relocating and visiting, and I worked with many people around the Middle East learning and exchanging new methods in sound production and recording to develop and push myself in contemporary vocals, electronic music and hybridise my operatic training in classical and new world genres. This had the advantage of allowing me to continue to perform at a time where there was no orchestra or institution to collaborate with.

During the pandemic I was going through my own crisis, both professionally and personally. It was an emotionally challenging time but, during this time of heartbreak, I came across composer Julian De La Chica’s work. I became deeply connected to his music and it helped me leap into the creative format I was always yearning for. We connected and created two albums with Irreverence Group Music. This was an intense time for such creativity, but it led to my music being premiered at Carnegie Hall and at the Art Dubai art fair and I also started to perform my own music around the city of Dubai.

A few months after Carnegie Hall, I created a collaboration with British-Dubai based visual artist Shaun Stamp, where he created a 360-degree digital art visual against my vocals at the Theatre of Digital Art Dubai (TODA). This was the next phase for me, the chance to further develop my creative ideas in visual and sound art. I also released ESPERANZA, an EP with Scorpios music label, in collaboration with live house band Arkadyan and DJ Demayä. I feel I have achieved the creative freedom that I was searching for, and I’m more open to exploring larger projects in UAE and beyond.

I also set up my own company, Silent Theme Production. During the pandemic I had time to rethink and start from ground zero in my creative direction and I started to produce music videos, work on collaborations, create new work and develop a social media profile. Dubai makes it easy to create and set-up a business quickly. Any individual can get a licence of their choice and the government has recently begun to give 10-year Golden visas for talented people. The city is designed to help ideas and people evolve and become successful quickly.

With the horrific war between Ukraine and Russia, people have had to flee their home countries. In this time of darkness, there has been some light. As more creatives and other talented people have relocated to Dubai, another wave of high-quality professionals has joined the city’s artistic cultural hub. We may see a lot of classical and theatre productions emerging within the UAE. People need the arts in these times of trauma and suffering and Dubai has turned into a place that offers people a chance to restart, to build and grow without the restraints of the old-world views. Creatively, Dubai is on the up.

For those looking to take advantage of the opportunities or are facing the similar challenge of make their mark on the classical music world away from established cultural hubs, I would say everyone is unique in their talent; energy attracts and you will find your own unique way if you search for it. On a practical note, different social media platforms are a great way to help connect and to showcase your work, attracting creative collaborations, aiding communication and helping to build a community.

Looking back over the last 10 years I have spent in Dubai, I can see that it has grown so much from when I first arrived. Well-placed for transient professionals looking to base themselves here for short-term projects, the city is an international hub providing a platform for visiting creatives to connect internationally and explore wider possibilities in music production and experimentation. Recently, we’ve seen the emergence of Dubai’s Opera House, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad arena and other venues around both cities that have triggered people’s curiosity about what Dubai can offer and produce culturally.

Yana Mann's collaborative EP Esperanza with ARKADYAN and Demayä is available here.