Conductor Paul MacAlindin stays upbeat despite decimation of National Youth Orchestra of Iraq | The National
09/03/2017, 17*39
Writing a book was Paul MacAlindin’s form of therapy. Photo by Mike Luongo
Emirates Lit Fest 2017: Conductor Paul MacAlindin on staying upbeat despite decimation of National Youth Orchestra of Iraq Rob Garratt
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March 1, 2017 Updated: March 2, 2017 03:18 PM Related
For Paul MacAlindin, writing his first book was a therapeutic necessity. It came after he had devoted six years to establishing Iraq’s first youth orchestra – a beacon of culture in the middle of a war zone – only to see his efforts disintegrate as the country descended into civil war. "I wanted to put it all behind me," says MacAlindin.
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The 48-year-old conductor, from Scotland, founded the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq in 2009, after an "incredibly serendipitous moment" when he spotted a story about a young Iraqi musician in a Glasgow newspaper. Seven years later, after the rise of ISIL signalled a heartbreaking defeat, he documented his remarkable achievement in the memoir Upbeat. "It devastated everybody, particularly me," says MacAlindin.
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