Events (15 May - 31 May)
The all-new, all-female vocal ensemble Awtar and the somewhat less new, less female men's ensemble, Dozan will each perform from varied repertoire that includes classical, Broadway, pop, Arabic and more. Shireen Abu Khader of the National Music Conservatory directs both. The craziest men and the hottest women sing together for the first time during the Spring Season organized by the National Music Conservatory. Jerusalem, Thursday 27/05 19:00, Al-Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art
Mohammad al Hawajri, lets his imagination add a thousand and one touches to the printed image of Catherine Deneuve with an astounding result. French Cultural Center, Gaza 29 April - 19 May
The Brigham Young University Singers are a captivating and versatile choir with an impressive range and style. With Dr. Ronald Staheli as director, the BYU singers have become internationally famous for their music, drawing enthusiastic responses from audiences the world over. The ensemble is performing in the Spring Season of the National Music Conservatory through its tour to the Middle East. The choir performs pieces from virtually every musical period and style, including several original compositions written specifically for the group. Its repertoire is rooted in the classical choir tradition, but also includes folk songs, spirituals, and musical theatre hits. Birzeit, Friday 28/05 20:00, Kamal Nasser Hall, Birzeit University
Afrequent visiting teacher at the National Conservatory of Music, always initiates lots of musical activity wherever he goes. Every year he participates in different performances with the teachers and students of the Conservatory. Peter is a member of the London Symphony Orchestra and in the Apple Hill chamber Players as well. As an educator, hehas founded the Brighton Youth Chamber Music School. He will be performing with Opus, the classical ensemble of the National Conservatory of Music. Jerusalem, Thursday 27/05 20:00, YMCA Bethlehem, Saturday 29/05 20:00 St. Catherine's Church
The Jerusalem Chorus is its spring performance will feature classic choral works including Weber's Jubilee Cantata and Strauss' The Blue Danube. The Jerusalem Chorus was established four decades ago. It consists of 30 members, both Palestinian and foreign working in Palestine. The four-voice choir is directed by Salwa Tabri and is accompanied by Nadia Abboushi on Piano. Ramallah, Sunday 16/05 20:00 Lutheran Church
An evening of string music played by Palestinian musicians Ahmad Al Khatib (Oud), Samer Totah (Oud), Mohammad Fadel (Violin), Zaher Rishmawi (guitar), and Ashraf Dabbah (Guitar) to commemorate the Nekba. The concert is dedicated to the Kosovo Albanian refugees. Jifna, Friday 21/05 20:00 Al Burj Center
Palestinian National Theatr1999
Writer: Salman Natour
Director: Mazen ghattas
Music: Mustafa Kurd
Actors: Imad Mize'ro and Taher Najeeb
More than carrying a message, the play carries an idea charged with situations, feelings, and pictures of the Palestinian existence, and the state of intellectual and emotional vagrancy it lives through. It is an attempt to dive deeply into the simple Palestinian character who carries dreams and ideas, wanting to clear them up for himself. The circumstances around this Palestinian deform these dreams in ways beyond his control, but for which he is partly responsible. Jerusalem, Wednesday 26/05 19:30 Palestinian National Theatre
Playwright: George Shehadeh (Lebanon)
Script and adaptation (from French): George Ibrahim (Palestine)
Director: Mohammad Khamees (Morocco)
Assistant director: Areen Abedy
Lighting: Philipp Andrieu
Costumes: khulood khoury
Production manager: Hanna habash
Set: Majed Zubeidi
Music: Bishara al Khill
The play talks about a Palestinian village, Deir Az Zaytoun, and a Palestinian Emigrant who returns to his village after a long absence. He meets a taxi driver who takes him to the village at night and tells him it's his old village, to see the settlements and the changes that have taken place on the landscape. The Emigrant falls to the ground, to be found dead in the morning by the villagers. The Emigrant has a suitcase with a million dollars and a message saying that this is a legacy for his son. The village is wrought with questions and doubts and issues relating to family honor, until one of the women is killed. At the end, everyone finds out that the taxi driver intentionally drives his passengers to another village (not their original village). Jerusalem, Tuesday 25/05 19:30 at the Palestinian National Theatre.
Palestine 1998 dir. Rachid Mashharawi, 26 min. Color, documentary.
The words in this film are colored images,charged with emotions and subtle patterns of behavior engulfed by silence, details in the depth appearing on the surface. The language is impotent, and a socioeconomic-political crisis is unfolding in the form of suffocating, small, tense, and intense details. El Bireh, Sunday 16/05 at 19:30, Popular Art Center
Syria 1990, dir. Mohammad Malas, 33 min. Color, Documentary and feature, Arabic This film is about prisons everywhere. It is based on the real experience of one of the prisoners in Syria. Mohammad Malas in this film mixes different techniques. The film is banned in Syria. El Bireh, Sunday 16/05 19:30, Popular Art Center
Spain 1983, dir. Pedro Almodovar, 116 min. Colour, feature, Spanish with English Subtitles. Yolanda (Christina Pascual) is a nightclub singer at the "Malino Rojo" and one night notices a group of nuns in the audience, who afterwards leave her with a calling card. When Yolanda's boyfriend dies of an overdose she takes to the streets and takes refuge in the convent of the humble redeemers. Her arrival is warmly welcomed, especially by the mother superior whose fascination with evil knows nearly no bounds. Yolanda meets the four remaining convent sisters, and she finds out that these eccentric, strange women have developed a new approach to the concepts of humility and redemption. El Bireh, Monday 31/05 19:30, Popular Art Center