Lulu opens new store in Al Fakhriyah, Dammam as it further strengthening its presence in Saudi Arabia New Lulu stores are set to open in Makkah and Madinah    Defending the Truth: Saudi Arabia and the 2034 World Cup    Culture minister visits Diriyah Art Futures    Survey: 60% will use Riyadh Metro to go for work or school    Saudi Arabia calls for enhanced international cooperation to address water sector challenges    GCC Preparatory Ministerial Meeting discusses developments in Gaza and Lebanon    Saudi Arabia hosts over 13 million foreign residents from 60 countries, says human rights official    RCRC Chief: Riyadh Metro, featuring environmental sustainability, will improve quality of life and revolutionize transportation    Al Taawoun seals AFC Champions League Two knockout spot with 2-1 win over Al Khaldiya    Israel to appeal against ICC warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant    Trump nominates Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia    Missing hiker found alive after more than five weeks in wilderness    Elon Musk publicizes names of government employees he wants to cut    Al-Jasser: Riyadh Metro to accommodate one million passengers daily    Israelis survey damage and mull return to north as ceasefire begins    Al Hilal advances to AFC Champions League knockout stage despite 1-1 draw with Al Sadd    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Iraq's youth orchestra: A musical dream that shattered
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 30 - 08 - 2016

For nearly six years, young Iraqis defied the war, coming from all over the country to play in an orchestra, but the emergence of Daesh has dashed their dream of making music to bridge deadly sectarian divides.
The Iraqi National Youth Orchestra's story is told in a memoir by Paul MacAlindin, the band's conductor from its founding in 2009 until it was forced to stop playing in 2014, an end that left him "devastated and empty and very, very broken."
MacAlindin, a Scottish musician, was eating fish and chips in an Edinburgh cafe when he saw an appeal in the local newspaper from a 17-year-old Iraqi pianist, Zuhal Sultan, for a maestro to put the orchestra together.
At that point, in 2008, MacAlindin knew little about Iraq or the challenges of playing classical music in a country devastated by more than a decade of war.
"I knew pretty much what everyone else in the general public knew, which was that Iraq was a war zone," said MacAlindin, who took the job that was funded by, among others, the British and German governments.
With much of Iraq too dangerous for MacAlindin to get to in order to meet potential players, the musicians were sought on Facebook and auditioned via YouTube.
Most had learned to play by watching videos online in the first place. "There was no teaching to speak of," said MacAlindin, now 48, who before taking up the Iraqi baton had conducted orchestras and ensembles from New Zealand to Germany.
The National Youth Orchestra of Iraq eventually met in 2009 for a summer school, the first of many rehearsals and concerts for which MacAlindin would fly in to conduct.
His proudest memory is their first concert, following two weeks of "orchestral bootcamp" with a team of translators to help the Kurdish and Arabic speakers communicate with their maestro and each other.
RESILIENCE
AND DESPAIR
"We proved that it could be done. We also proved that we were resilient enough to see the course through to the end," he said.
"And despite all the very large differences between us, we held ourselves together and nobody walked out."
Beethoven's Prometheus Overture, Haydn's Symphony No. 99, and — to represent the ethnic mix of the orchestra — Kurdish and Arabic Iraqi pieces made up the repertoire that night and the orchestra went on to play in Britain, France and Germany. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.