Palestine Youth Orchestra embarks on first UK tour

Palestine Youth Orchestra embarks on first UK tour

The Palestine Youth Orchestra will make its debut UK tour this month with six performances in cities across the country.
2 min read
08 July, 2016
The orchestra brings together Palestinian youth from Palestine and the diaspora [Getty]

The Palestine Youth Orchestra will make its debut UK tour this month with six performances in cities across the country.

The tour kicks off on 25 July in the Scottish city of Perth with stops at Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham and Cardiff, before concluding on 1 August in London.

"The Triumph of Youth & Talent" tour will bring together young musicians aged 14 to 26 from Gaza and the West Bank and the Palestinian diaspora to perform both Western and Arabic music.

The orchestra will be joined by Palestinian singer Nai Barghouti and several students from leading British conservatoires.

"The young Palestinians are very eager to show their talent to British audiences and to illustrate the true Palestine, its culture and the humanity of its people," said Suhail Khoury, General Director of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music.

Lord Cope of Berkeley, Chairman of Palmusic UK said: "This tour will be a wonderful personal experience for young musicians who normally live such restricted lives and a giant step in their musical development."

Unable to rehearse together at home, the orchestra will meet and rehearse in Scotland in during July ahead of the tour.

The programme will include music by Beethoven, the pop-inspired Metal by British composer Graham Fitkin and classic Arabic songs made famous by Arab singers Fayrouz and Omm Kulthoum.

Established by the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in 2004, the orchestra was launched with the vision of bringing together young Palestinian musicians from around the world in a high-quality ensemble, and delivering their message of inspiration and humanity to audiences worldwide.

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