The PYO Tour

 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