Awj
The National Conservatory of Music Choir, Awj presented
its debut concerts at the Tombs of the Kings as part of the Jerusalem Festival
for Arabic Music 1999. Khaled Jubran, oud and buzuq teacher and head of
the Oriental Music Department at the National Conservatory of Music, leads
the choir. Nine singers accompanied by teachers from the Conservatory will
present a collection of traditional classical Arabic songs and Muwashhat.
Ramallah 06 May 20:00, Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center.
Transit
Transit has been performing for a year and a half as
a jazz trio. With a change in personnel they are now exploring the fusion
of jazz and Arabic styles. New to the group are the creative talents of
Youssef Hbeish on percussion, and the enchanting voice of Bisan Toron.
Transit will be joined by special guests at each of their concerts. Grant
Chamberlain (Saxophone), Rudi Felder (Double Bass), Youssef Hbeish (Percussion),
and Bisan Toron (Vocals, Percussion). Jerusalem, Thursday 11 May 20:00,
YMCA –East Jerusalem. Bethlehem, Saturday 13 May 20:30, The French Hospital.
Peter Sulski and Yoko Ono
Viola and Piano Duo Violist Peter Sulski came to Ramallah
to teach at the National Conservatory of Music in 1999, from a position
with the London Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the Apple Hill Chamber
Players and the Ramallah String Quartet. Pianist Yoko Ono gave her Wigmore
Hall (London) debut in 1997. They have been playing as a duo since 1995
and have appeared all over Britain, including at St. James' Picadilly,
London, the Brighton International Festival and Dartington International
Summer Festival. In the USA they have played at the Apple Hill Chamber
Music Festival. They will perform works for viola and piano by Bela Bartok,
Frank Bridge and Rebecca Clarke, as well as some solo piano works. Ramallah,
Saturday 13 May 20:00, Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center.
The Oriental Music Ensemble
The Oriental Music Ensemble present their concerts this
season to mark the occasion of the production of their first CD, Im il
Khilkhal. This group of teachers from the National Conservatory of Music
aim to revive the Arabic musical heritage, which is being eroded by modern
commercial music. This will be the third appearance in the Jerusalem Festival
For Arabic Music where they started three years ago. Khaled Jubran on buzuq
and oud, Suhail Khoury on nay and clarinet, Habib Shehadeh on oud, Ibrahim
Attari on qanun and Ramzi Bisharat on percussion will present an array
of Arabic musical genres and improvisations on popular melodies. Jerusalem,
Saturday 20 May 20:00, YWCA –East Jerusalem.
Opus
The NCM chamber ensemble is dedicated to performing classical
music in all its various combinations, from violin - piano duo to string
quartet and larger ensembles. Teachers from the NCM involved in this group
come from Palestine, Scotland, England and the United States, and have
been affiliated with the Apple Hill Chamber Players, major London music
colleges and the London Symphony Orchestra. Works featured in this season's
concerts will range from Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no. 2, a favorite
of the classical repertoire, to the world première of a piece for
solo flute specially composed by Opus member Val Pearson. Ramallah, Sunday
21 May 20:00, Friends Girls School. Bethlehem, Saturday 27 May 20:30, The
Bethlehem Peace Center.
Amanda Choir – Sweden
Founded in 1981, Amanda choir from Goteborg, Sweden,
offers a large repertoire of songs spanning different musical periods and
styles and crossing many borders with boldness, innovation and flair. With
an amazing tour de force Amanda has reconciled the apparently irreconcilable
in music traditions and Cafe Creole represents the culmination of the many
interests of this unusual choir. They mix the traditional sound of Haiti
and Swedish songs into a blend of Creole music that thrives on a brilliant
exchange of varied leading voices on a background of classical acapella
singing plus diverse instrumental accompaniments. Amanda presents its musical
material as valid vocal art without boundaries, in which it has developed
its own fascinating melodic and rhythmic wealth independent of any ethnic
geographic source. Bethlehem, Wednesday 31 May 20:30, Bethlehem Peace Center.
Play: Az Zeer Salem
Adaptation by: George Ibrahim
Director: Mohammad Khamis
Assistant director: Raeda Ghazaleh
Music: Said Murad
Jerusalem 2000
Between the epic as represented in the popular tale and
the Al Kasaba theatre is a vision that is being developed moving towards
an endless open space formed by a variety of human formations full of black
and white, the crazy extremism and existentialism, and colored with the
colors of life. This play is a theatrical contrivance between the Az Zeer
Salem play written by Alfred Faraj, the popular tale, the conscience of
the Egyptian poet Amal Dunqul, and a Palestinian creative vision. Ramallah,
Thursday 18, Friday 19, Saturday 20, Sunday 21 May 19:00, Al Kasaba Theatre.