Posted by Matthew Guilford on November 15, 2003 at 07:38:33:
In Reply to: Iraq National Symphony Orchestra posted by Doug on November 15, 2003 at 00:55:35:
I will be performing in this joint concert on Dec. 9 at the Kennedy Center. I will report
back with news of their tuba player, if there is one, as well as some other observations.
In the meantime, I posted some additional information below taken from the Kennedy Center
webite. You can also go to www.kennedy-center.org for ticket information.
Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra
Dec 9, 2003 at 6:00 PM
Concert Hall
Running Time: 1 hr.
THE PROGRAM
Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra
Mohammed Amin Ezzat, conductor
and the National Symphony Orchestra
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Guest Soloist Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser joined Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia S. Harrison on travel to Iraq on September 23-26 to meet with artists, arts leaders and arts organizations to discuss strategies to help rebuild Iraq’s cultural institutions.
The delegation also met with the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra to discuss a U.S. Department of State-sponsored cultural exchange program, which would include a joint concert with the National Symphony Orchestra on December 9th. “Educational and Cultural exchange programs provide the opportunity for people to effect positive change at every level of society. In addition to the bricks and mortar of reconstruction on post-Saddam Iraq, we are working to build a partnership with the Iraqi people to restore civil society and hope for the future,” said Assistant Secretary of State Patricia S. Harrison.
“The arts have emerged as vital components of every society, and Iraq is no exception,” said Kaiser. “I believe the people of Iraq deserve a thriving arts community. The arts organizations and artists in Iraq will require a plan for future development. I hope these first conversations set the stage for an ongoing dialogue with Iraqi arts groups.” Kaiser added, “We will welcome the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra to the Kennedy Center in December, where they will perform with Music Director Leonard Slatkin, the National Symphony Orchestra and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.” The INSO'S conductor for the past several years, Abdul Razzk Ibhraheem Mahdi, will also be in attendance.
Kaiser and Ma serve as cultural ambassadors as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ CultureConnect program.
The U.S. Department of State selected Kaiser and the Kennedy Center for this program because of their proven success with the Capacity Building Program for Culturally Specific Arts Organizations, which currently involves 29 African American, Latino, Asian American and Native American arts groups from around the United States.
This concert is free, but tickets are required. A limited number of free tickets, two per person, will be distributed on Saturday, December 6 between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. in the Hall of States.