{"id":77108,"date":"2016-08-01T12:00:18","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T11:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=77108"},"modified":"2016-07-30T15:01:57","modified_gmt":"2016-07-30T14:01:57","slug":"palestine-youth-orchestras-triumphant-uk-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2016\/08\/palestine-youth-orchestras-triumphant-uk-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Palestine Youth Orchestra\u2019s Triumphant UK Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The Palestine Youth Orchestra at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
Bryan MacCormack<\/p><\/div>\n

Palestine Youth Orchestra at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 26 July 2016<\/em><\/p>\n

29 Jul 2016 – <\/em>True to form, the rain is hammering down on Glasgow. In the foyer of the Royal Concert Hall young men in sharp black, wearing scarves bearing the unmistakable checkered print of the Palestinian kuffiyeh<\/em>, are prowling around moodily. One detects pre-performance nerves.<\/p>\n

This is the second night of the Palestine Youth Orchestra\u2019s six-night debut tour of Britain. On the first night of their tour, the orchestra filled the concert hall in Perth; their show in Glasgow\u2019s monumental concert hall sold out. The remaining tour stops include Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff and finally London.<\/p>\n

If there were indeed pre-show nerves, they weren\u2019t necessary: the Palestine Youth Orchestra received a full standing ovation. Not even greats like the St. Petersburg Philharmonic get that when performing in Scotland.<\/p>\n

The Palestine Youth Orchestra know their audience. Their diverse program showcased their skills, but also allowed for the fact that, as a newcomer to the international scene, ticket sales will for the moment rely as much on solidarity as on attendees with a passion for classical music. With a range of different styles and feels, the ensemble\u2019s selections were clearly \u2013 and successfully \u2013 intended to appeal to all tastes.<\/p>\n

Beethoven Resonates<\/strong><\/p>\n

First up was the Leonore<\/em> Overture No.3 from Beethoven\u2019s only opera, Fidelio<\/em>. As Layth Sidiq, the orchestra\u2019s skilled concertmaster, pointed out in one of the many short introductions and commentaries made by different members during the evening, the opera\u2019s plot resonates strongly with the group of young Palestinians, as it tells the story of a young woman disguising herself to free her husband from political prison.<\/p>\n

Following this, the orchestra performed with vocal soloist Nai Barghouti three 20th-century Arabic songs: two written by the Lebanese Rahbani brothers for the great singer Fayrouz, and a third by Zakariyya Ahmad, with lyrics from a work by Egyptian poet Bayram al-Tunisi, originally composed for the Egyptian diva Umm Kulthum.<\/p>\n

Up-and-coming star Barghouti \u2013 born in Akka, a graduate of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, and a composer and flautist as well as singer \u2013 has a stunning voice. With deep, rich tones beyond her years, she doesn\u2019t try to emulate Fayrouz or Umm Kulthum, but makes these songs her own with a more naturalistic style and open, frank delivery.<\/p>\n

The first half of the performance closed with \u201cMetal,\u201d a short piece by contemporary composer Graham Fitkin, a celebratory work inspired by modern British classical music. This bold, pacey, upbeat work is the result of an open competition held by the Palestine Youth Orchestra in 2015.<\/p>\n

Chosen from more than 30 entries, Fitkin\u2019s work highlights the orchestra\u2019s tightness and sense of timing; with a lively, almost pop-like core, the pronounced percussion needs to be spot-on to sound right, rather than random. Fortunately, it was.<\/p>\n

The second half of the program consisted of an international touring orchestra favorite, Mussorgsky\u2019s Picture at an Exhibition<\/em>. A series of vignettes responding to paintings by the composer\u2019s friend Victor Hartmann, interspersed with a Promenade theme which represents the composer walking between the images, it is a varied piece which showcases the talents \u2013 or, in unlucky cases, failings \u2013 of different soloists and sections of the orchestra.<\/p>\n

The Palestine Youth Orchestra tackles Mussorgsky\u2019s work beautifully, alternating between the limpid, moving Promenade and the various \u201cpictures,\u201d ranging from the lively, even funny \u201cBallet of the Unhatched Chicks in their Shells\u201d to the menacing \u201cCatacombs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Backdrop of Occupation<\/strong><\/p>\n

When listening to this skilled orchestra, it\u2019s easy to forget that the musicians\u2019 ages range from 26 to just 14, and that their very presence in one concert hall, on one night, involves overcoming huge political and logistical challenges.<\/p>\n

Although the Palestine Youth Orchestra has sprung from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, which has branches in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, the orchestra\u2019s members are spread across historic Palestine, including within the State of Israel.<\/p>\n

Indeed, two musicians were unable to join this tour, despite being scheduled to perform: from Gaza, they were denied exit by Israel.<\/p>\n

Their far-flung origins, and the reality of Israel\u2019s severe control over Palestinian movement, means that the players only get to rehearse as a full orchestra when on tour. The program for this tour was honed in Britain, workshopped with tutors at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and finalized alongside guest musicians from the UK.<\/p>\n

The backgrounds of many of the orchestra\u2019s members show the additional political obstacles it faces. Violist Omar Saad, for instance, is a young Druze citizen of Israel whose musical talents have often been overshadowed by the many jail terms he has been sentenced to<\/a> since the age of 17 for refusing to serve in the Israeli military.<\/p>\n

Omar\u2019s brother Mostafa, who plays violin with the Palestine Youth Orchestra, also faces jail time for refusing to be conscripted.<\/p>\n

Some members of the orchestra hail from refugee camps in the West Bank and the wider Middle East.<\/p>\n

Others are citizens of Israel who grew up detached from fellow Palestinian musicians; flautist Nardin Ballan, for instance, was raised in Nazareth and studied and performed in Tel Aviv with Israeli musicians.<\/p>\n

According to a spokesperson with PalMusic, the Palestine Youth Orchestra\u2019s representative organization in Britain, Ballan\u2019s first-ever visits to the West Bank were with the orchestra, and have been \u201clife-changing\u201d for her.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, though, the Palestine Youth Orchestra was formed to play music, and in Glasgow, they overcame all their challenges to do so wonderfully well. To see this orchestra perform is not an act of solidarity, it is a musical treat.<\/p>\n

___________________________________<\/p>\n

Sarah Irving<\/a> is author of a <\/em>Biography of Leila Khaled<\/a>, of the<\/em> Bradt Guide to Palestine<\/a>, and is co-editor of<\/em> A Bird is not a Stone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 electronicintifada.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although the Palestine Youth Orchestra has sprung from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, which has branches in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, the orchestra\u2019s members are spread across historic Palestine, including within the State of Israel. Indeed, two musicians were unable to join this tour, despite being scheduled to perform: from Gaza, they were denied exit by Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[141],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77108\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}