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Historic Concert and Workshops in Baghdad
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The February 17th event at the Al Rasheed Hotel was the first cultural program sponsored by the US Embassy in Baghdad since the late 1980's. The concert was attended by Karen
Hughes, who also spoke at the event, as well as by Ministers of Culture
and Education and other prominent Iraqi government officials. The
audience was primarily Iraqi with additional attendance by diplomatic
corps and other guests of the US Embassy.
The primary goal of the project was to assess the current state of Iraqi music and dance institutions. Towards this goal, 3 days of workshops were offered to The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra (INSO), the Ballet program of the School of Music and Dance and the National Folk Dancers. The INSO and the School of Music and Dance both received a donation of music scores from American Voices, including educational materials for orchestral instruments as well as jazz methods and orchestral works by Duke
Ellington, George Gershwin and Jerome Kern.
During the workshops, American Voices and the INSO studied music by Gershwin, Copland and Kern and in the concert, the orchestra played arrangements of "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" and "Sophisticated Lady" by Ellington. They also accompanied American Voices singer Michael Parks Masterson in Jerome Kern's "Old Man River". These were the first performances ever of American repertoire by the
orchestra. They were prepared in only two days of rehearsals with
American Voices. These joint performances received a spontaneous standing ovation by the audience and many Iraqis expressed joy that their beloved orchestra
still existed and was performing.
A Steinway concert grand piano, donated by the U.S. Steinway company in
2003, was retrieved from the convention center, dusted off, tuned and
used for this concert and delivered after the concert to the School of
Music and Dance where it will receive care and attention.
Dance workshops in Ballet, Jazz and Broadway styles were given
over a four day period with students ranging in age from 6 years to 20. The
students are from the School of Music and Dance and the National Folk Dancing Ensemble.
Many Iraqis commented that the mere fact that such an event was
organized gave them a sense of hope for a brighter future for the
country. The concert reminded them of better days when such events were
more common and also reminded many that the orchestra, containing all
ethnic and religious groups, was a wonderful symbol of what a
multi-ethnic and confessional Iraq can achieve.
American Voices looks forward to developing future educational and performance programs in Iraq with a focus on the first Summer Arts Education Academy in the Kurdish Autonomous Region of Northern Iraq in July 2007.
