Breaking barriers in Iraq and abroad — Medium
26/09/15 12:47
Breaking barriers in Iraq and abroad
young women of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq
Anna Soliman Photography
https://medium.com/@re_maley/breaking-barriers-in-iraq-and-abroad-3e03564178
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Breaking barriers in Iraq and abroad — Medium
26/09/15 12:47
This article originally appeared on Kickstarter.
a Majid Azzawi, oboe
“There is a myth that we don’t do any kind of arts in Iraq,” says Dua’a, first oboist of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq. “Sometimes the media — in Europe, in the US — only transports the violence and the horror. They don’t show the good things.” These misconceptions are only one of many obstacles that have made NYOI’s success so remarkable for the last five years. From the incredible difficulty of simply bringing the members of the orchestra to a safe place to countering ignorance or discrimination both at home and abroad, the musicians have worked hard for all their acclaim. Especially young women like Dua’a. “I’m a girl and I play music, and some people think it’s not really appropriate for our culture. There was a time when I couldn’t tell people I’m a musician. I still have to talk to the person and find how open-minded he or she is, so I can say ‘I play music, I play in an orchestra.’”
https://medium.com/@re_maley/breaking-barriers-in-iraq-and-abroad-3e03564178
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Breaking barriers in Iraq and abroad — Medium
26/09/15 12:47
Arabella Steinbacher rehearses with NYOI Georg Witteler 2011)
Paul MacAlindin, NYOI’s founding conductor, knows how challenging it is for his female students to continue to excel in music. “[In 2011], Arabella Steinbacher came to play the Beethoven Violin Concerto and you could see the jaw of every guy in the first violins hit the floor. They’d never seen anybody play like that. And certainly not a woman. In traditional Iraqi society, women are not encouraged to make art. About a quarter of our orchestra is female and you can see they’ve worked ten times as hard to get here.” That’s one of the reasons that NYOI’s story is so unique — the orchestra was founded by a 17-year-old girl. Zuhal Sultan knew that the best way to unite the young artists of her country was to create an orchestra, and she was right. Since their first performance in 2009, NYOI has been the only Iraqi arts program actively bringing together Arabs and Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites, men and women, and positioning them as cultural diplomats on a global stage. This year, NYOI brings their message of peace and collaboration to a new audience in the United States.
https://medium.com/@re_maley/breaking-barriers-in-iraq-and-abroad-3e03564178
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Breaking barriers in Iraq and abroad — Medium
https://medium.com/@re_maley/breaking-barriers-in-iraq-and-abroad-3e03564178
26/09/15 12:47
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