Sabreen was set up in 1980 in Jerusalem, and was one of the pioneering Palestinian music bands whose repertoire consisted mainly of committed Palestinian political songs, as politics was the main concern for Palestinian artists at the time. Featuring a number of musicians who went on to become prominent musicians in their own right in the future, members of the Sabreen group were musicians, music teachers, and held other regular jobs. It is only in the past few years that the group has turned professional with full time musicians. Even though the musicians have changed over the years, the two constant members of the band who have come to give the band its charac ter are Said Murad, composer, Oud player, and artistic director, and Kameila Jubran, main soloist and Qanoun player.

The reputation of Sabreen is one of excellence in production and performance, even though that has meant fewer productions over the years. In the eighties, Sabreen managed to create a special rapport with its Palestinian audience through their second production featured in 1984 with lyrics by renowned Palestinian resistance poets such as Mahmoud Darwish and Sameeh al Qassem and music which the average listener could follow and even sing. Later productions such as "Death of the Prophet" began to feature more contemporary Palestinian poets such as Hussein Barghouti. As the band began to open up to different musical worlds and influences, it began to be more and more known in international circles, and have per formed in Jazz and contemporary music venues in Europe, the Far East and the Arab World, as well as notable ones such as the Royal Albert Hall in London. Based in Jerusalem, Sabreen could not limit its activity to its musical creativity and production due to the isolation that the city of Jerusalem suffers from the rest of the Palestinian cities.

Therefore, the band started to cooperate with other local cultural and art organizations to implement several programs and projects that target the local community in Jerusalem in an attempt to raise cultural aware- ness and provide the opportunity for the development of young musicians from amongst this community. The Sabreen Association for Artistic Development was set up to implement programs developing culture and music in Jerusalem in particular. This month, Sabreen will be performing on Manger Square for the opening of the Bethlehem 2000 millennium celebrations on the 4th of December. For further information contact: (02) 5321393