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Iraq’s young musicians unite to perform

groundbreaking concert

On 8 August, against a backdrop of instability and insecurity one of the world’s most exciting orchestras, The National Youth Orchestra of Iraq (NYOI), will be performing a concert in northern Iraq.

The Youth Orchestra is the inspiration of 18-year-old Iraqi pianist and British Council Global Changemaker, Zuhal Sultan. This year she is bringing together 45 talented young musicians from across Iraq in Erbil for two weeks of rehearsals and a final concert where they will perform a programme of classical and traditional Iraqi music.

With support from the British Council, the orchestra aims to develop young Iraqis’ love of music and to showcase the rich talent within the country to the outside world. It brings together musicians from a diverse range of ethnic and religious backgrounds to play music and share experiences, in the context of rebuilding Iraq. Director of the British Council Iraq, Tony Reilly, said; “The British Council is delighted to be working with the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq again this year as it continues to develop and grow into one of the world’s most exciting and dynamic orchestras. In a country such as Iraq music is often seen as secondary to more basic needs, however this project has shown the world that music has the power to bring people together and to bridge the gap between communities and countries.” But bringing the orchestra together has not been without its difficulties. In many parts of Iraq, especially in Baghdad continued insecurity and a rise in Islamist fundamentalism has seen many musicians singled out for attack, making it almost impossible for young people to develop their skills and play as part of a group. The volatile security situation also prevented many of the would-be members from travelling to the auditions. To overcome this problem and ensure as many people as possible had the chance to be a part of the project, the organisers used Skype to allow them to view the musicians’ performances and choose the final participants. Many of the musicians are self taught and have never had any formal tuition but some such as clarinettist Mariwan Ismael, are currently receiving support online from teachers based in the UK to help them prepare for the performance. During the two weeks of rehearsals the orchestra will be supported by tutors from the UK, Germany, USA and South Africa. The orchestra’s mentor and musical director is Paul MacAlindin, who has conducted the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and the Duesseldorf Symphoniker. Musical Director, Paul MacAlindin said; “This orchestra is special because we bring together Kurds and Arabs in a large group to work with intense discipline, and publicly celebrate their culture and the music they love. To many people the potential diplomatic power of the orchestra in not

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immediately obvious, but this project is testament to the positive bonds and experiences that music can bring.”

The orchestra came together for its first concert last year and has since joined the League of American Orchestras and is a co-operating member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras. This year the 45 new and returning young musicians will be joined by Kurdish folk singer and harpist Tara Jaff as well as two international musicians: a bassoonist from the National Youth Orchestra of Turkey and oboist from the National Youth Orchestra of Italy. The programme will include Iraqi and European works including Beethoven – Symphony No. 1, Lance Conway - Heartbeat of Baghdad, Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto with Angelia Cho and Tara Jaff – Chang and Qafilachi.

ENDS

For more information about the orchestra or to arrange an interview with Zuhal Sultan, Paul MacAlindin or the musicians taking part, please contact Helen Mould on 0044 (0)20 7389 4939 or helen.mould1@britishcouncil.org Notes to Editors: British Council

In 2009 the British Council supported the inaugural performance of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Council are pleased to be supporting the development of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq again this year.

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations

• We operate in 110 countries and territories worldwide • We build relationships and understanding between people in the UK and other countries and increase appreciation of the UK’s ideas and achievements overseas • The areas we focus on are creativity, education and civil society • We are a non-political organisation which operates at arm’s length from government Our income in 2008/09 was £645 million, of which our grant-in-aid from the British government was £209 million Zuhal Sultan When the war started in Zuhal’s native Baghdad in 2003 she was a scholarship student at the prestigious Baghdad Music and Ballet School. As the war continued the school was on the brink of collapse, as most of the teachers fled the country. However, even in the absence of professional instructors, and in the face of extraordinary adversity, Zuhal and her fellow students managed to keep the school open, and teach themselves. Additional worldwide press coverage of the story may been seen here: http://szuhalpno.googlepages.com/press Paul MacAlindin has worked throughout Europe as an orchestral conductor, education project leader and as a coach and accompanist for choirs and opera singers in Cologne. As the assistant to renowned British composer, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, and conductor Elgar Howarth, he has worked with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The National Youth Orchestra of Wales, the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia of London. With the British Council, he has conducted Maxwell Davies’ “The Turn of the Tide” at the Zagreb Biennale with 500 Zagreb school children and the Croatian Radio Orchestra. Paul MacAlindin made his Carnegie Hall New York début in 2008 accompanying Brazilian baritone Mauricio Santos Virgens. Most recently, he has worked with the Oulu Sinfonia of Finland, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Düsseldorf Symphoniker. He can be contacted at macalindin@hotmail.com or +49 151 237 35 985 www.paulmac.org. Join NYOI on Facebook for regular updates: http://www.facebook.com/nyo.iraq

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