Al Kamandjati Newsletter 2015/2016

A beautiful musical rhythm   

Dear friends, students and teachers, it is a pleasure to present to you our newsletter for

the academic year 2015-2016, a year which saw us welcome new and continuing students, as

well as new and returning teachers. With you, our Al Kamandjati family becomes even larger, as

our activities, concerts and accomplishments continue to grow. The year flies by as we

remember the hard work, the fun times, and the constant enjoyment of a beautiful musical

rhythm—one we hope will last forever. In this newsletter, we would like to remember and relive

with you some of the past year’s activities. None of them would have been possible without the

individual and group efforts of the whole Al Kamandjati family—students, faculty, musical and

administrative guests, friends and sponsors.

Music education program  

AK  implemented  its  original  and

tailored music education program  in

6 different locations in Palestine  (old

Takreem Cultural Excellence

Award 2015  

Al Kamandjati Association was awarded

in November 2015 the Takreem Cultural

Excellence Award , a huge

city of Ramallah, old city of Jenin, the

refugee camps of Al Amari, Qalandiah

and Jalazon, and the village of Deir

Ghassana), as well as in 2 locations in

Lebanon (the refugee camps of Bourj el

Barajneh and Chatila). Around  500

children, between the ages of 5 and 18,

benefited from this program by learning

how to play musical instruments,

studying music theory and taking pride

and enjoyment in expressing themselves

through music. And AK was able, thanks

to several partners, to provide 80% of

those students with full scholarships.

Al Kamandjâti in Belgium  

Al Kamandjâti musicians, together  with

musicians from Tournai  Conservatory

(Belgium), carried out a music residency

to present an innovative creation during

the “Les Inattendues” Festival in

September 2015, attended by around

1000 persons.

Musical creations andperformances

 

recognition for its continuous  work.

TAKREEM identifies and honors Arabs

who have excelled in their field and

inspired others in their quest for

cultural, educational, scientific,

environmental, humanitarian, social,

and economic excellence.  By

highlighting Arab endeavors across the

globe and raising awareness of Arab

accomplishments, TAKREEM becomes a

platform for the many unseen Arab men

and women to be recognized for their

achievements.

Al Kamandjâti performances andtour in France

Al Kamandjâti carried out a musical tour

in France in August / September 2015

(Bagnolet, Angers, Paris, etc.),

concluded by a  joint performance

with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris

(France)   during the huge and annual

“Fête de l’Humanité” (Humanity

Festival) that lasts 3 days in Paris (with

an audience of around 1,000,000

persons).

Read article here.

Al Kamandjati has always aimed to use

music as a vehicle for creation. In this

vein, Oud player Luay Balaawy and

percussionist Ibrahim Froukh toured

several Palestinian cities this year, along

with Pierrick Pedron and Chris de Paw,

playing both Jazz and Oriental Music, in

cooperation with the Consulate General

of France in Jerusalem.  The

tourfeatured a distinctive mixture of

western and oriental instruments, also

presenting  Arabic pieces, such as songs

by Um Kulthum, alongside Jazz pieces.

Al Kamandjati also presented a musical

tour performed by AK musicians,

accompanied by the great  Peter Sulski

and  Belina Fernandez. Flamenco,

baroque music and Christmas Carols

were all part of the program that was

performed in Ramallah, Jerusalem, and

Gaza.

Launching of “In the Name ofWomen”

 Al Kamandjâti Association along with

World Vision JWG  and in partnership

with the Ministry of  Women's Affairs

and  Women’s Affairs Technical

Committee has,  on the occasion of the

International  Women’s Day, launched a

new production called  “In the Name of

Women” .  This new production is

Ongoing student concertsthrough the academic year

 As is customary within the Al Kamandjâti

association,  monthly student concerts

  are held throughout the academic

year. Concerts are organized for

students in the western, oriental and

jazz departments as part of school's

curriculum, in order to encourage and

support the artistic and moral growth of

the students. Over fifteen concerts were

held this year, presented by Al

Kamandjâti students in Ramallah, Jenin,

Deir Ghassana, and the camps of Al

Amari, Qalandia, Jalazone in Palestine,

and the camps of Bourj el Barajneh and

Chatila in Lebanon. These concerts are

attended by students’ families, friends

and teachers; regular audiences witness

firsthand the ongoing progress and

development of the students.

Al Kamandjâti Music Program inUNRWA and governmental

schools  

This music education project has been

implemented in  the schools of the Al

Amari, Jalazon, and Qalandia refugee

camps   since several years now. It

aims to incorporate music into the

educational life of students and to

facilitate the educational process

through music, beginning by targeting

young children in the primary grades. In

order to sustainably implement this

dedicated to  women  all around the

world. Through the singing,

improvisations and zajal of Nour

Freitekh, Awdat Qadah and Aida Abu

Farha, the song addresses  issues  that

some Palestinian women have to

overcome every single day. Lyrics:

Bashar Tmaizi; melody: Iyad Staiti;

direction: Madleine Shaaban;

 production: Amjad el Rifai.

Workshop on wood instrument-making

AK musical instrument makers took part

in  a  workshop on wood instrument

making and on the exploration of the

beautiful sounds  created by the nature

that surrounds us, in order to come up

with a musical station on Mashjar

Juthour. Marimba, musical bells, guitar

and nay were all a part of it.

program, AK has also trained UNRWA

teachers at the schools concerned,

enabling them to use musical

educational tools throughout the

project. More recently, the project has

been extended to  20 governmental

schools   in the Marj Ben Amer area

(Jenin governorate), reaching out more

than 500 children there.

Al Kamandjati participation inlocal community events

 Al Kamandjati works hard to accept all

the invitations it receives from

organizations and official institutions to

participate in Palestinian cultural

activities. This year, Al Kamandjati was

an official participant in the Sibat

Festival, hosting most of the festival’s

preparatory meetings and taking part in

several of its musical presentations. Al

Kamandjati also participated in various

local activities, including the Nowar

Nisan Children’s Festival,  the

8thHeritage Festival  organized by the

Popular Art Center, the Reading Week,

the ceremony for Manal Hroub who was

awarded the title of The Best Teacher in

the World, and Andalusia Ramadan

nights in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah and

Hebron, the Heritage Week in Birzeit,

Nablus Festival…

Musical Journey Festival fortraditional and spiritual music

 The creation of the  Musical

Journey  festiva l  is based on the

belief that the time has come to

broaden people’s understanding of

Palestine, and to give its music world a

greater sense of universality, by

welcoming other cultures. The aims of

the festival were to give a new lease of

life to music in Palestine,  especially in

the Holy City of Jerusalem, and to revive

the Palestinian historical, archaeological

and religious heritage. The festival

presented performances, guided tours,

photo exhibitions, jam sessions,

lectures, workshops, trainings and many

other activities in the North of

Palestine, Ramallah and finally in

Jerusalem.

Ramallah Orchestra  

The Orchestra   was  established in

2008, by an initiative of Al Kamandjati

Association, in order to boost the

Palestinian cultural sector and  to

provide a platform for its members (AK

students, teachers and guests coming

 Summer workshops in AKcenters

 AK organized  several workshops during

summer   for its students from

Ramallah, Jenin, Deir Ghassana, and the

refugee camps of Al Amari, Jalazon and

Qalandiah so that they can benefit from

intensive music courses during their

holidays, provided by AK faculty and

guest musicians. Those workshops are

not only a way to progress quickly, but

they are also a way to let students

explore music differently, and enjoy it

even more than they already do. The

workshop days were composed of

individual lessons, as well as group

courses, and ended with a music

performance of what has been learnt

during the day – leaving a great impact

on the participating students.

Al Kamandjati in Lebanon  

More than 8 years have passed since the

beginning of the implementation of Al

Kamandjâti program for music education

in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon in

from Palestine and all around the world)

to perform together. The Orchestra

gathers annually for an intensive week

of work and practice, before touring in

Palestine. This year, the orchestra

performed Beethoven's  7th  Symphony,

conducted by Maestro Diego Masson (in

the framework of its project to perform

one of the 9 Symphonies every year), as

well as a symphony of Palestinian

folklore (idea and arrangements: Ramzi

Aburedwan; elaboration: Khaled

Saddouk,  and orchestral arrangements:

Florent Pujuila).

Training of AK teachers

AK organized at the end of August  a

capacity building training course for its

faculty, focused on pedagogy for young

children, as well as on the creation of a

curriculum in the teaching of music

appreciation for early childhood.

2008. The musical education program

implemented in partnership with Beit

Atfal Assumoud offers both practical and

theoretical musical training through the

team of the association in Lebanon. This

program currently involves 70 students

and is based in the refugee camps of

Burj el Barajneh and Shatila. Each year,

Al Kamandjâti in Lebanon also

participates in many musical events and

organizes training workshops for its

students. Al Kamandjâti also organized

aconcert in the Assembly Hall of the

American University of Beirut  at the

end of its summer camp, which mixed Al

Kamandjâti musicians from Lebanon and

Palestine; as well as a performance in

Beddawi refugee camp in the occasion of

the 40th anniversary of our great partner

Beit Atfal Assumoud.

End-of-the-year concert AK closed the academic year with

anend-of-the-year concert , resulting

from the work and efforts of all of

the  administrative and academic team,

and its students and their parents.

Students from all centers took part

in  the event (Ramallah, Jenin, Deir

Ghassana, refugee camps of Al Amari,

Qalandiah and Jalazon), performing in

several ensembles (oriental, jazz,

western…), and receiving at the end of

the concert their annual certificates in

the presence of their families and

friends.

Thank you  

SIDA, the European Commission, the Welfare Association, the General Consulate of France in

Jerusalem , the Prince Claus Fund, the General Consulate of Belgium in Jerusalem, the Hishmeh

Foundation, the A.M. Qattan Foundation, the Palestinian Ministry of Culture, the Palestinian

Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Palestinian Ministry of Education, the Palestinian

National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, Jerusalem Governorate, Cultural

Resource (Al Mawred Al Thakafy), Beit Atfal al Sumud, Stains Municipality, 4ACG, the Conseil

Général de Maine-et-Loire, le Department of  Loire-Atlantique, French Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, Province du Hainaut, Assopace Palestina, the Palestinian Performing Arts Network

(PPAN),  the Danish House in Palestine, Cultura e Libertà, Project Hope, RIWAQ Center for

Architectural Conservation, Al Maamal Foundation, Musique et Vie, Alwan for the Arts, Hope,

Jenin Governorate, Marj ben Amer Municipality, Nablus Municipality, Alquds University,

Ramallah Municipality, Paris Municipality, UNRWA, Dar al Tifel el Arabi, the Goethe-Institute in

Ramallah, the French Institute, Ekitour, Diwan Voyage, Chamber Orchestra of Paris, Toulouse

Conservatory, Les Inattendues Festival, Fête de l’Humanité, M. Alain Weber, the Lebanese

National higher conservatory of Music, FNB Bank, ZeitOZaater, Al Yasmeen Hotel, the Jerusalem

Hotel, Darna Restaurant, the National Beverage Company Coca-Cola, Palestine TV, 24 FM, Raya

FM, Maan Network, Nisaa FM, Mrs. Hana and Maha Alami, Khalaf and Ghanem families; and

thank you also to all the other friends, partners, organizations, and individuals  for their

support, as well as to the AK administrative and academic team, the students and their parents,

and the guest musicians from all around the world, whose support is making such a difference in

our students’ lives!