Wadi, Solhi al- (1935-): Syrian orchestra conductor. He was born in Damascus for an Iraqi father and a Syrian mother. He received his music training in the Alexandria Conservatory of Music, followed by the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1953 to 1960, studying composition, conducting, violin and viola. In 1960 he returned to Damascus where he helped establish the Arab Music Institute, becoming its director in 1962, a post he held until 2001. He was appointed Dean of the Higher Institute of Music in 1990. His major achievement was the founding of the Syrian National Symphonic Orchestra, which performed its first opera in 1995. The Orchestra performs annual concerts in Damascus and has recently performed successful concerts in Lebanon and the United States. Al Wadi was awarded the Syrian Order of Merit of the First Class for his services to the cultural and musical life of Syria.