PRE-ORDER UPBEAT - the story of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq, out Aug 18th http://amzn.to/1qh0vXI

by Mohammed Amin Ezzat, commissioned by Grand Theatre de Provence for the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq, premiered on 13th August, 2013 with Paul MacAlindin as conductor, supported by 14 players from Orchestre Francais des Jeunes

The Magic Of The East - Mohammed Amin Azzat - National Youth Orchestra of Iraq 2013

In the world of J.S. Bach, music was considered transcendent, serving a purpose beyond earthly desires. It was used to explore and answer questions of human existence, including love, death, happiness, and divinity. For a performer, reflecting on these subjects accurately means immersing oneself in every aspect of the music. Navona Records presents THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER, BOOK 1 performed by award-winning pianist Kimiko Ishizaka, whose interpretations are singular to this repertoire. From the clarity of sound and balanced articulations to the seriousness and emotional depth, Ishizaka commits herself to the virtues of transparency, passion, and intellect.

Regarded as "a gifted and obviously devoted Bachian" by the New York Times, Ishizaka studied the notes and phrases of Bach's solo keyboard works in a systematic manner in order to discover an interpretation which adheres to the strictures of the great composer's writing. On the analysis of Bach's music, Ishizaka says, "Each voice should be clear, independent, and consistent from start to finish. Each voice should have its own phrasing and dynamics that are logical to its narrative." Furthermore, the pianist eschews the pedal for the benefit of lucidity and precision, while achieving cantabile lyricism and fluid passagework through superior technique and control.

www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv5993

Kimiko Ishizaka - THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER, BOOK 1

Recorded live at NAC, Ottawa, Canada
July 29, 2015
NYO Canada
Oboe Solo - Hugo Lee
Conductor - Michael Francis

NYO Canada - Strauss Oboe Concerto - Hugo Lee

NYO Canada - Jack Singer Hall, Calgary, 2015 Aug 09

LeBel - monograph of bird's eye views

NYO Canada - Jack Singer Hall, Calgary -2015 Aug 09

Holst - Planets

Iraqi youth orchestra at Beethovenfest (http://bit.ly/KuKdT6)

Conductor Paul MacAlindin stood before a group of musicians ranging in age from 16 to 28. They came from across Iraq. 16 are Arabs (both Sunni and Shiite), 25 are Kurds, and four are Turkmen.

“What we have here is quite a remarkable and public and profound symbol of harmony,” MacAlindin said, “both in the musical and in the spiritual sense, between groups of people who, although they live in the same political entity, Iraq, know actually very little about each other.”

They’re getting to know each other, and they have fellow member Zuhal Sultan to thank for that. Several years ago, the teenage pianist managed to put out an international call for a conductor and teachers to help train young Iraqi musicians.

MacAlindin responded, and went on to help Sultan organize three music training camps in Iraqi Kurdistan, staffed with professional teachers from the UK and the US. Funding came from government and private sources in Iraq and the UK. 

Many of the orchestra members haven’t had much in the way of formal training. They said when the war broke out in 2003, many musicians left or just stopped teaching. Sabat Hamid, a 28-year-old cellist from the northern town of Arbil, said the young musicians often had to teach themselves.

“It was very hard because we didn’t have teachers to show us how to play,” Hamid said. “Mozart and Beethoven are big composers, and pieces by them are hard. There was no one who could help us.”

Even with the training camps, barriers remain — including language. As MacAlindin conducts, he said he relies on two translators at his side who repeat his words in Kurdish and in Arabic.

18-year-old oboist Dua’a Azawi said in spite of differences of language, culture, and religion, orchestra members have become close.

“We are all from different backgrounds, but that doesn’t affect who we are,” Azawi said. ”We have one united background, which is music. We all play music. People have been asking me if problems have happened between you and the Kurdish, and I say no, I have very close friends, and they are Kurdish.” 

This weekend, the Iraqi Youth Orchestra is performing its first concert abroad. The members are playing at the Beethovenfest in Bonn. In honor of the trip, two works were commissioned for the group. One is by an Iraqi Arab composer and another by an Iraqi Kurd.

The group is on track to play at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe next year. MacAlindin said it is still too dangerous for them to play in Baghdad, but he hopes for a concert in the Iraqi capital within a year or two. He said the group’s long-term goal is to help restart a stable musical education system in Iraq.

He said the young musicians are getting world-class teaching, and “that will turn them into the teachers of the future for Iraq.”

Iraqi Youth Orchestra to play at prestigious Beethovenfest

LayeLaye- Tarajaff

The Halabja poison gas attack (Kîmyabaranî Helebce), also known as the Halabja Massacre or Bloody Friday was a genocidal massacre against the Kurdish people that took place on March 16, 1988 during the closing days of the Iran-Iraq war, when chemical weapons were used by the Iraqi government forces in the Kurdish town of Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan. Approximately 5000 were killed and 10,000 were injured in this attacked, thousands more died of complications, diseases and birth defects in the years after the attack. This act of genocide is the largest chemical weapons attack directed against a civilian populated area in history.


Halabja (Helebce) :            Harp by Tara Jaff,  Duduk/Balaban by Sidar

The National Youth Orchestra of Iraq was a fantastic living example of peace and reconciliation by Iraqis, for Iraq and for the world. This year,  we arrived in Aix-en-Provence, to work alongside the National Youth Orchestra of France for three weeks and perform in Grand Theatre de Provence. NYOI’s diversity brings together young Arabs and Kurds, among others from across Iraq, to create real harmony together. We were founded by a brave 17-year-old Iraqi, Zuhal Sultan, just four years ago. Since then, the orchestra has developed with the tireless energy of Musical Director Paul MacAlindin. Though many musicians fled the country during the war, we have been determined to create a national youth orchestra for Iraq and the world by collaborating with British Council and German Friends of NYOI. We auditioned each year on youtube and many of us receive our only tuition at the annual summer school.

The Magic Of The East - Mohammed Amin Azzat - National Youth Orchestra of Iraq 2013

NYO Iraq

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