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The annual tour of the Palestine Youth Orchestra, a flagship
project of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music started in
Amman, Jordan last week under the baton of the renowned Dutch
conductor Vincent De Kort. Despite the difficulties and obstacles of
bringing young Palestinian musicians from all over the world as well
as some international musicians, the concerts at Birzeit University
and Al-Najah University went very smoothly. Of course my sister Rima
and I were very proud to see our grandchildren part of this orchestra
playing with passion and enthusiasm.
The program included The Star Wars Suite by John Williams, and
Maurice Ravel Bolero, Romeo and Juliet Suite by Sergei Prokofiev, and
Danzon NO2 by Arturo Marquez. and three Arabic songs by Rahbani
brothers peformed by Nay Barghouti. With her beautiful presence and
lovely voice she was almost as good as Fairouz , the original singer
for the Rahbani music. There was also a piece by my son Suhail "To
Ahmad" which he had written a few years ago when his musician friend
Ahmad was denied entry to the country. The piece was specially
orchestrated for the PYO by Norwegian musician Oystein Frantzen. The
performance at the Nasib Shaheen Hall at Birzeit University was
dedicated to Vladimir Tamari, a renowned Palestinian artist, who had
passed away recently in Japan where he has been living in exile. His
sisters Tania and Vera were among the audience and were very moved by
this gesture. His daughter Mariam Tamari , a professional soprano,
had performed with the Palestine National Orchestra on its debut in
Jerusalem in 2011, as well as on other occasions.
When everything around us seems so stressful and hopeless, we are
indeed thankful for such performances, and we hope that music will
continue to uplift our spirits and give us hope for a better future,
especially for the younger generation
