In Saudi Arabia, heritage is not only preserved in museums. It sings, it dances, and it keeps time with the beat of a drum. The Saudi National Orchestra and Choir has become one of the Kingdom’s most powerful stages for this living heritage, gathering regional music and dance into one shared performance. In a single evening, audiences can travel from Najd’s sword dances to Hijaz’s stick rhythms, from southern mountain steps to the sea songs of the Gulf coast.
At the heart of it all is a simple idea: every region has its own sound, and together they form the musical voice of Saudi Arabia today.
What is the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir?
The Saudi National Orchestra and Choir is a professional ensemble created by the Music Commission under the Ministry of Culture as part of Vision 2030’s cultural transformation. It brings together Saudi musicians, composers, and vocalists and places them on major national and international stages, from Riyadh’s King Fahd Cultural Centre to global tours like Marvels of Saudi Orchestra in Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, Sydney, and more.
According to the Music Commission, the orchestra’s mission is not only artistic, but educational and cultural. It aims to:
- Revive Saudi musical heritage through orchestrated performances
- Support and train Saudi talent
- Build cultural dialogue through collaborations with global orchestras
- Inspire national pride, especially among young people
In many of its flagship concerts, the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir does something unique: it places folk dance troupes and traditional instruments on the same stage as orchestral arrangements, turning the show into a live map of Saudi Arabia’s regions.
One Stage, Many Regions: Folk Arts Inside the Orchestra’s Programs
The Marvels of Saudi Orchestra series is a clear example of how the orchestra works with regional heritage. At the Palace of Versailles in 2025, the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir performed a program that combined orchestral music with four traditional Saudi performing arts: Al-Khobeiti, Al-Majroor, Al-Rifaihi, and Al-Khathwah.
These arts come from different communities in the Kingdom, particularly in the western and southern regions. On stage, they appear alongside famous Saudi songs and orchestral pieces, allowing international audiences to see not just “Saudi music,” but the diversity inside that term: different steps, rhythms, and instruments from across the country.
From here, it becomes easy to organize the orchestra’s cultural universe by region: central Najd, Hijaz in the west, the southern highlands, the Eastern Province, and the northern deserts. Each has its own dances, songs, and instruments that the orchestra’s work helps spotlight.
Also Read: The 13 Regions of Saudi Arabia and What Makes Each One Unique
Central Najd: Ardah, Samri, and the Power of Drums
Saudi Ardah: The Icon of the Center
In the central region Najd, the most iconic art is Saudi Ardah, also known as Al-Ardah Al-Najdiyah. It stands among the Kingdom’s most important traditional dances. Once performed as a war chant with swords and drums, it has gradually transformed into a dance of celebration and ceremony. Key elements of Ardah include:
- Two facing rows of men
- Swords and sometimes flags
- A powerful choir reciting poetic verses
- Multiple drums driving the rhythm
The performance relies on different drum patterns, such as takhmīr (two-beat) and tathlīth (three-beat), to create energy and structure.
Samri: Night Songs and Swaying Lines
Another hallmark of Najdi culture is Samri, a folk art that combines singing, drumming, and dance. Samri can be traced back to Qassim, which later spread to Hail, Wadi ad-Dawasir, Bishah, and southern Riyadh. Typical features of Samri:
- Performed at night gatherings (the name relates to samar, staying up late for entertainment)
- A row or semi-circle of men sitting or standing, swaying while clapping
- A lead singer delivering poetic verses
- One or more drums providing a steady, hypnotic rhythm
Central Instruments
In these Najdi arts, drums are the heart of the sound world. The wider Saudi instrumental palette also includes:
- Oud: A deep, fretless lute that anchors melodies in many Saudi and Arab ensembles.
- Frame drums and mirwas: Hand-held or two-sided drums used across dances and sea songs.
When Najdi pieces appear in concert programs, these instruments and rhythms often shape the arrangements, whether through traditional ensembles or through orchestral percussion that echoes the original beats.
Al-Ardah Al-Najdiyah was the first Saudi element added to UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage list in 2015, underlining its status as a national symbol.
Western Region (Hijaz): Mizmar, Majroor, and Coastal Celebrations
From Makkah and Madinah to Jeddah and Taif, the western region, (also known as Hejaz) has its own sound, shaped by trade routes and centuries of cultural exchange.
Almezmar (Mizmar): Drums and Sticks
Almezmar is a traditional group performance in Hejaz involving rows of men who beat drums, clap, and twirl long sticks while chanting songs about bravery, generosity, or love. Despite the name, there is actually no wind instrument in the dance itself:
- 15 to 100 performers
- Two rows facing each other
- Drums and handclaps
- Bamboo canes or sticks used in mock battles
Mezmar (also spelled mizmar) is also the name of a traditional wind instrument, one of the oldest in Saudi folk arts, made of hollow wood with finger holes. It appears in single-reed and double-reed (mijwiz) forms and is widely associated with Hijazi celebrations.
Almezmar, as a Hijazi stick song-dance, was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List in 2016, alongside Al-Ardah Al-Najdiyah.
Al-Majroor and Other Hijazi Arts
Al-Majroor is one of the western region’s best-known dances, historically linked to the Thaqif tribe around Taif and later spreading throughout Hijaz, including the outskirts of Makkah and Madinah. In Al-Majroor:
- Performers stand in two facing lines
- Tambourines drive the rhythm
- Singers respond antiphonally with poetic verses
Other Hijazi arts often associated with the region’s stages include Al-Khobeiti, Al-Rifaihi, and weapon-based dances like Hejazi Taasheer, which uses rifles in highly skilled choreographed displays. These are among the arts highlighted alongside the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir during the Marvels of Saudi Orchestra tour, presenting Hejaz as a region of powerful group chants, layered percussion, and dramatic movement.
Southern Highlands (Asir, Jazan, Najran): Khutwa, Zamil, and Mountain Rhythms
The southern regions, especially Asir, Jazan, and Najran, have a distinct cultural character: terrace farms, mountain villages, and a rich tapestry of poetry and dance.
Al-Khutwa (The Asiri Step)
Al-Khutwa Al-Aseeriya, often simply called Al-Khutwa, is one of the most common dances in the southern regions. Its choreography mirrors its name “step”:
- A line of performers moves one step forward, then one step back in a steady rhythm
- Drums and the sound of synchronized footsteps form the core beat
- Traditional poetry is sung over these rhythms, with some performers breaking out to chant solo lines
Al-Khutwa is also one of the performing arts selected to appear with the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir in international concerts, representing the southern highlands on global stages.
Zamil and Other Southern Vocal Arts
Al-Zamil is an old vocal art from Asir and Najran, later spreading across the wider southern region. It is performed without instruments, focusing entirely on group singing of poems tailored to each occasion, whether welcoming guests, facing hardship, or marking community events.
Other southern dances, such as Al-Dil’a and sword or dagger dances, add variety to the region’s repertoire, but most share key features: rows, strong choral voices, and drum-accompanied steps.
Eastern Province: Sea Songs, Fajri Rhythms, and Clay Drums
On the Gulf coast, music and dance are shaped by the sea, especially the history of pearl diving and maritime trade.
Al-Fajri: Songs of the Divers
Al-Fajri is a traditional maritime singing genre practiced across the Gulf but deeply rooted on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. It can be described as a sailors’ art that took shape on pearl-diving voyages. Its sound world includes:
- A lead singer and vocal chorus
- Intense clapping patterns
- The mirwas, a double-sided hand drum
- A clay-pots instrument known as al-fajiri/al-jahl, where percussionists strike the outside of the pots to create resonant bass tones
The result is a layered, driving rhythm that matches the pull and push of the sea.
Other Eastern Arts
Sea-related songs and dances, sometimes grouped under “navigation songs”, form a broader category of arts in the Eastern Province. A wide musical repertoire grew along this coastline, tied to the work, hardship, and fellowship of sailors and divers. In concert contexts, these arts add a different texture to Saudi programs: call-and-response vocals, clapping patterns, and clay percussion that contrast with the frame drums and swords of Ardah or the sticks of Almezmar.
The instruments of Al-Fajri, especially the clay pots and mirwas, are so central that they even give the art its name, derived from the word for the clay vessel used as a drum.
Northern Deserts: Rababah Melodies and Dahha Echoes
In the north, near Jordan and Iraq, desert life and Bedouin traditions shape the region’s soundscape.
Rababah: The Bedouin Fiddle
The Rababah (often called rebab) is a one- or two-string bowed instrument strongly associated with Bedouin communities in northern Saudi Arabia. It's a “primitive” yet central instrument, historically accompanying nomads at their gatherings and celebrations and remaining important in national festivals today.
It frequently appears with:
- Nabati poetry recited or sung over its sustained tones
- Small drums or frame drums
- Storytelling performances that mix narrative and song
Al-Dahha Al-Shamaliya
The Al-Dahha Al-Shamaliya chant, common in the north, is characterized by powerful, sharp vocal sounds that can be compared to the roar of a lion, symbolizing bravery and combat readiness. Its features include:
- A line of performers responding to a leader
- Vocal intensity more than instrumental complexity
- A strong community focus, celebrating victory, resilience, and unity
Together, Rababah and Dahha emphasize that in the north, voice and poetry are as important as instruments.
The Instruments Behind the Sound: A Quick Overview
Across all these regions, certain instruments appear again and again on local stages, in festivals, and now in programs curated around the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir:
- Drums:
- Tar: Single-sided frame drum
- Tabl: Double-sided drum used in dances such as Ardah
- Mirwas: Smaller, high-pitched drum, central in Gulf and sea arts like Al-Fajri
- Clay drums (al-fajiri/al-jahl): Clay pots struck by hand in Eastern maritime art
- String instruments:
- Oud: A key Arabic instrument and ancestor of the European lute, widely used in Saudi music
- Rababah: The Bedouin bowed instrument, called the “queen of folk arts” in northern regions
- Wind and percussion hybrids:
- Mizmar/Mezmar: Wooden wind instrument associated with Hijazi celebrations, even lending its name to the Almezmar dance
- Handheld tambourines: Used prominently in western dances like Al-Majroor
These tools give each region its particular sound, and when they share a stage under the umbrella of the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir, they create a musical picture of the entire Kingdom.
Why the Saudi National Orchestra Matters for the Future of Saudi Music
The Saudi National Orchestra and Choir is a modern frame for very old arts. As Vision 2030 drives cultural development, it keeps regional dances, poems, and instruments alive, placing them in concert halls, festivals, and international tours. When Ardah, Almezmar, Khutwa, Fajri, Samri, and Rababah-based arts share one stage, audiences don’t just watch a show, they experience a living map of Saudi identity that connects generations at home and invites the world to listen.
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