Last Post from Lebanon

This will probably be my last post from Lebanon.  Today we travel to Tripoli for our final concert, then tomorrow we begin making the long trek back.  What I wouldn’t give for a direct flight and no over-nights!

Thursday we had a concert of just classical music.  The singers and pianists performed a concert at 6 and the string orchestra performed a concert at 7:30.  Both were held in Irwin Hall on the Lebanese American University campus.  It’s a nice hall acoustically and proved to be an excellent venue for the orchestra.  Most of us attended the first concert.  Ribal was sitting next to me, and when the first young lady began to sing in a deep mezzo voice, he grabbed my arm and excitedly whispered, “Mr. James, she sings like a viola!”  I have never seen a kid so viola crazy in my life!  The singers and pianists were very enjoyable . . . Lots of good work there.  The orchestra performed a very ambitious program for the 12 or so days we had rehearsed:  Vivaldi’s Concerto Madrigalesco, Mozart’s Divertimento in D major k136, Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite and the theme music from the video game Halo.  In addition to that, we had small groups that performed a Telemann Concerto for Four Violins, a Vivaldi Concerto for Four Violins (with viola and cello accompaniment) and the first movement of Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 18 No. 4 (they were dynamite!!!).  I could not have been more pleased with the outcome.  The performance was mature and very professional in so many respects.  They not only played with great precision, but they really made some wonderful music out on that stage.  After the concert we celebrated by going to dinner together at a restaurant called Nando’s.  It has Mexican food.  You really can find any cuisine here in Beirut!  We had a marvelous time at dinner relaxing, chatting, and enjoying the after-affects of a great concert.

Last night was the big gala concert that featured a little bit of everything the academy has to offer (Jazz, Band, Orchestra, Piano, Voice, Broadway, Hip Hop and Children’s Theater).  It went very well.  Again, the orchestra did a great job and I was very proud of them.  After the concert, we went to Istanbouli, a Lebanese restaurant, and had hummus, tabouleh, metabahl, fatoush, stuffed grape leaves and these fried cheese things (who doesn’t love fried cheese?) and platters of grilled lamb and chicken.  It was all delicious, but the kids were not very impressed.  “This is home food . . . This is what we eat every night.”  I’d take it!

I am astounded when I think about how close I can feel to students after such a short period of time.  We spend so much time together over the course of a day that it’s like cramming many days into one.  Then, of course, couple that with the fact that you’re spending time making music.  That is an act that allows me to see into the hearts and souls of all of these wonderful young musicians.  I love my students here very much, and hope that I will have an oppoturnity to work with them again at some point in the future.  I hope they will stay in touch . . . I know I will miss them terribly.

Concerts . . . giving and going

Tuesday was our first concert.  It was up in the mountains at a stunningly beautiful outdoor location.  The performance was a showcase of all the different programs we have going at the Academy (Classical Music, Jazz, Band, Broadway, Hip Hop and Children’s Theater).  The performance went well considering these are less-than-idea circumstances for young string players.  It’s cold in the mountains, so hands were freezing, the sound of strings doesn’t carry outside and the sound system they had was not set-up to mic string players, there were lots of children there running around and yelling and to top it off  . . . there were fireworks going off while we performed.  Even through all of that, our students did a fantastic job!  I was so impressed with their ability to focus on their job and make beautiful music in spite of everything going on around them.  They’re awesome!  After the concert, the faculty was taken to the home of the benefactor who is supporting this academy.  It was an amazing party!

Last night Marc and I went to the Bettedienne Festival to hear the Palestinian Youth Orchestra.  It was an interesting concert and I’m glad I went, but it was not at all what I was expecting.  First of all, they weren’t all that young.  Most of the musicians were in their 20’s and 30’s.  They performed a sort of cantata by Marcel Khallifeah.  He’s a popular oud player here.  The work was for orchestra, chorus and four singers.  It was sort of Arabic pop music/movie music sounding.  It was ok . . . but it didn’t give me much idea of the orchestra.  Marc spoke with the concertmaster briefly, and learned that he’s from Germany.  This is a pick-up orchestra that gets together in the summer and does these sorts of concerts.

Tonight we have our big concert for the orchestra.  All the works we’ve rehearsed, but the chamber music the students have been working on for the past 12 or 13 days.  I think it will be a great concert and I’m really looking forward to it.

A Much Needed Day Off!!

I can’t recall the exact reason now, but for some reason we were not able to have classes on Sunday, August 9, so we had a day off.  As much as I’m enjoying working with the students here, I was very glad to have a day off!

Tony and Sara very kindly offered to take Marc and me around to see some sights.  I mentioned Tony in my previous post.  He’s such a good guy.  Sara is a remarkable young lady.  She’s brilliant, kind, thoughtful, funny and a wonderful violinist.  We knew it would be a great day!

We went up into the mountains to an area called Chouf.  I can’t begin the describe the beauty of the area.  I took lots of photos, but I’m afraid even those can’t tell the real story.  The air is amazing . . . much cooler and much less humit than in Beirut.  We went to this area that had an enormous crucifix on it.  Surrounding it were 12 spots that at one time contained the stations of the cross.  It had all been bombed, though, as it’s an easy target from the air.  In fact, we saw a lot of areas that had been bombed in the 2006 conflict.  Some has been re-built, some not.

We went to this lovely little church called Our Lady of the Hill.  It’s something out of a story-book with it’s stone structure, beautiful artwork and breathtaking view over the mountains.

We dropped by on Tony’s Aunt who lives in the area.  It’s a great house with an unbelievable view and beautiful artwork all around.  And on the subject of artwork, when we left Tony’s Aunt’s house, we went to his cousin’s art studio.  He’s a fantastic painter and we sat, looking at his art for quite some time.

Lunch was a great collection of Lebanese salads and some grilled meats.  We wandered around the village for quite some time and began making our way home.  As we were driving and it was getting later, the sun began setting.  We stopped to take photos.  You could look over the mountains, into the bright orange sky and see it reflecting in the Mediterranean Sea.  Again . . . there just aren’t words to describe it.

As great as it was to have the day off, I’m ready to get back to rehearsals and preparing our upcoming performances.  I think we have 4 concerts in a period of 5 days?  Whew!

Some Students . . .

It’s about 8 a.m. on Saturday, and I’m sitting here at Cafe Ristretto.  I just finished a great breakfast of bacon and eggs . . . real pork bacon (do you have any idea how difficult it is to find pork in the middle east?), and french press coffee.  I’m sitting here thinking about some of these students.

The students here are very different from my students in Iraq.  Having more European influence (and generally more resources) these students seem, perhaps, a bit more worldly.  I love both . . . they’re just different.  The fact that we have far fewer string students here makes a big difference, too.  I found myself yesterday discussing the origins of each dance-style found in the Bach Suites with Ribal, and moments later, discussing Plato with Garo and Sara.  These are 16 and 17 year olds.  While I’m still just getting to know most of these students, I thought I would give you some details on a few of them.

Nady:  Nady is a 16 year old cellist.  He’s a very good musician, and his father, a violinist, is head of the National Conservatory and Concertmaster of the National Symphony.  When I first met Nady I thought, ‘I really hope I can get this kid to open up a bit and talk.’  He was so silent, I wondered if I should take it personally.  Well . . . Nady is silent no more!  In fact, the kid’s a real cut-up.  The other day in conducting class we were beginning to talk about what a conductor should look for in a score.  I asked, “What do you learn from looking at the score.”  Without flinching, Nady rasied his hand and in a very thoughtful tone said, “Who is winning.”  Then slowly a big grin grew across his face.  He keeps me thoroughly entertained.

Tony:  Tony is older . . . he’s 25 and he’s our Concertmaster.  He, too, is a very funny guy and a wonderful violinist.  Tony has been very good to take Marc and me around to various places in town.  Our first trip, along with Sara, was to lunch.  Tony turned the wrong way down a one-way street.  The traffic policeman that was standing right in front of him as he turned came running over to the car and started yelling at Tony (in Arabic, of course, so I don’t really know what was discussed) but Tony convinced him it was okay to go the wrong way because he was just parking.  He’s a rather convincing guy.

Ribal:  I had the pleasure of hearing Ribal play back in July, when he was playing his end-of-semester jury.  He was un-phased at having these two american string players/teachers sitting in on his jury.  He’s an amazing violist.  He has a wonderful viola teacher here, who is from, of all places, Baghdad!  Ribal’s teacher is so wonderful that he gave Ribal his good viola while he, the teacher, plays on something of much less high quality.  It’s easy to understand why you would want to do that for Ribal, though.  The combination of his musical gifts and who he is as a person makes you want to help him any way you can.  Two nights ago I ran into Ribal and several other boys at a restaurant near our dorm.  When he saw me he gave me this huge smile and said he had just told Ramzi, “It’s so unfair.  You come here and shine on me for a few short days and then leave me.”  What a sweet thing to say.

Last night, I ran into a group of our string boys in the hall of our dorm.  They asked me if I had playing cards because they wanted to have a poker game (“without money, of course” as Nady said).  I was not able to supply them with cards.  The next thing I know, I hear about 8 kids in the room across the hall from me (Ribal’s room) rehearsing Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite.  Poker . . . practice . . . whatever!!

Getting Settled

Things are going very well.  I really like our students here.  They’re very different from our students in Iraq, but quite wonderful in their own ways.  Collectively, they are fun, funny, very talented and a pleasure to teach.  I would assume they have fairly good teaching going on here, as all of our students have pretty solid technique.  While they may have teachers, like my students in Iraq, they do not have good access to sheet music.  Nor do they have easy access to strings and other supplies.

The facilities where we teach are ok.  For three hours everyday there is a general power-outage.  There is a generator that keeps the lights working, but there is no air conditioning during that time.  Trust me . . . we need air conditioning.  The three hours are on a rotating schedule.  Yesterday it was 12-3, today 9-12 and tomorrow it will blessedly be 6-9, before anything really starts.

I did laundry last night, and I was very tired when I did it.  So tired I didn’t realize that I left my phone in my pocket.  Cell phones and washing machines are not friends.  I had to go buy a new phone today.  Phones are much more expensive here than in Iraq.  At least my sim card still works.   Unfortunately, I hadn’t saved all my contacts to the sim card.  Nothing like starting over.

Day 0 and Day 1 in Beirut

We arrived in Beirut late Thursday evening.  Friday we were “off.”  I put “off” in quotation marks because we still needed to go to the American Community School (ACS) where we’re holding the academy.  It’s a fairly nice facility.  After we checked out our rooms at ACS, we went shopping.  First I bought a sim card so I would have a local phone number.  I bought a phone in Iraq.  My Blackberry doesn’t work there because it’s locked, so I can’t use it with a local sim card.  I’ll be able to use the same sim card if I go back next year, so I’ll have the same phone number.  I’m able to use that same phone here in Beirut, I just needed local service, so all I had to buy was the sim card.  Shopping was a lot of fun.  There’s great shopping here.  Wish I had more space in my bags!

I’m living in a dorm at American University in Beirut.  The dorm is kind of a dump, but the view is magnificent!  I’m on the 7th floor of the highest part of the campus.  The campus is very near the sea.  I can step out on my balcony and see the sea as far as the eye can see!  Seriously . . . as dumpy as the dorm is, it’s all worth it for the view!

Today was our first day with students.  I was a bit concerned . . . new kids . . . new place . . . what will it be like?  Well, our students are awesome!  They’re very good players, they’re funny, they’re fun, they all understand English and they all seem excited to be here.  I think it’s going to be an amazing couple of weeks.  We read through some music today (Vivaldi’s Madrigalesco Concerto and the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia II).  They read very well!  I think we’ll have a lot of fun working on music together.  We also have everyone divided into chamber ensembles, so that will be nice to coach some chamber music.

We finish teaching fairly early (6 or 7 most evenings) so we can get around the city a bit and see some things.  Tonight was dinner and internet at my favorite cafe . . . Cafe Younes!  I love this city!

Wrapping up in Iraq

Well, cutting the last rehearsal really didn’t seem to hurt anything.  The concert was very successful.  I was very proud of the orchestra’s performance, and it was well received by the audience.  This group has been great fun to work with.  It strikes me as odd, though, that a city the size of Suleimanyiah can support TWO professional orchestras . . . the Slemani String Orchestra and the Kurdish String Orchestra (with whom I worked last summer).  Both orchestras are rather small, but the musicians seem to prefer two seperate orchestras rather than one larger one.  I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work with both of them and hope that more opportunities will come along in the future.  After the concert we went to Sarchnar, this outdoor amusement park that has several very nice restaurants.  I enjoyed my thoroughly.  I got to spend some time that evening with some of the orchestra members I didn’t know as well, so I feel like I know them better now.

Yesterday, Marc and I had a television interview, for a local station, asking about what we did here and how we enjoyed it.  Hopefully it will provide some good publicity for the orchestra.  After the interview, I went to Honar’s house for lunch.  I had met his dad and his little brother, Hamma (short for Mohammad) after our big concert last year here in Suli, but this was the first time I met his mom and his little sister.  Honar’s mom is absolutely lovey, and a wonderful cook, too.  She made dolma, or as the Kurds call it, yaprach.  In fact, she made two different kinds . . . Kurdish and Turkish.  It was amazing!  In addition to that there was a salad of cucumbers and tomatoes and roasted chicken.  For dessert, she made this incredible custard!  What a wonderful meal.  Honar’s dad is the nicest man.  He is an artist and is very intelligent and kind.  Hamma has grown a lot over the past year.  He’s 14 and plays football (soccer to the US).  Tita . . . Honor’s sister . . . she’s an angel and she cracks me up!  Too precious.  I loved getting to spend time with the family and getting to know them all better.

Today was our last full day in Suli and it couldn’t have been more perfect!  We left about 7 a.m. on a bus with about 15 people and drove to Halabja.  Halabja was the site of one of Saddam’s most heinous crimes–the genocide of thousands of Kurds in a period of just minutes, with the use of chemical weapons.  The attack took place on March 16, 1988.  It’s so hard to fathom that something this disgusting could happen in such recent history.  There is a museum there dedicated to the victims of the attack.  To say that walking through there is a moving experience is a serious understatement.  Because it was so recent there are graphic photos and videos of the actual event.  The museum is round and the center room consists of panels of black marble carved with the names of the deceased.  There is a platform in the middle that stands 3 meters in height (3 = March) and has 16 supports (16th) and the room measures 19.88 meters in height.  The last room we visited had some of the most moving photos and we were shown a video that contained footage of the attack, the bodies in the aftermath and some footage of the few survivors.  At the end, it was explained to us that the man who showed us the video was was one those survives we had just seen on the television screen.  The whole experience was breath-taking.  I suggest you watch this video for a better understanding of the event.  From Halabja, we drove to an area called Ahmad Awa.  It’s in the mountains.  In fact, had we been able to cross the mountains, we would have been in Iran.  We were only miles away!  We found this amazing spot by a waterfall, in the depths of fig trees where we set up for a picnic.  As people were preparing the food, some of us walked down into the stream of ice-cold water.  When you’re in a city like Suli or Hawler that is decided desert-like, it’s hard to imagine a place like this exists only an hour or so away.  While I was in the stream, Peyan and Balen ganged up on me in a splashing war and I was completely and totally soaked.  I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe!  Lunch was a spread of the most amazing tomatoes I’ve ever eaten, mouth-watering yaprach made by my dear Awder, and some really tasty Chicken Brianni.  After tea, the grill was fired up with skewers of beautiful pieces of lamb.  Then we went further up the mountain (in a death-defying truck ride) to the big waterfall.  Again, you just can’t imagine a place like this exists here!  It’s stunning!  After our return to the picnic site, there was more grilling . . . much more grilling.  The food was simply amazing.  After the ride home, Awder, Honar, Shirwan and I went to a coffee shop called Melody Cafe.  It’s a fantastic place.  The goodbyes were . . . difficult.  I reminded Honar and Awder that were all sad this time last year because we thought we were saying goodbye, but I came back and I will be back again next year, inshallah.

Saying goodbye to people that you love is hard in the best of circumstances, but when you realize that the loved ones you’re leaving behind still have the same limited resources for learning and growing as musicians, it makes it all the more difficult.  I wish so badly that I could give every one of these musicians everything they need to be the best musicians they can be, but the needs are seemingly endless.  While I’m here, I’m so busy trying to give everyone anything I can, but at the end, I’m simply overwhelmed by what I can’t give them.

Next stop . . . Beirut.

Aww . . . who needs rehearsals!

There is continued controversy regarding the election.  Yesterday, a local news station reported (according to Bashdar who was translating for me as we were riding in a taxi to the bazaar) that they were planning to take all the votes from the voting locations where they believed fraud occurred and void all the votes from those locations.  Of course, these decisions are being made by the current government who has a vested interest in making sure the election goes a certain way.  In any case, the fears over something happening have caused the orchestra to move the concert up a day . . . that would be TODAY!  I’m a little nervous about giving up a rehearsal, but I’m sure it will all be fine . . . both the concert and the election results.

Last night we had dinner at Alan’s family’s house.  Again, it was more food than I could have imagined and so, so good!  I asked his brother how Alan could stay so thin when his mother was such a good cook.  He laughed and said Alan ate more than anyone else in the family.  Oh to have that metabolism!  They have the most beautiful garden.  When you walk in the gate from the street, you walk under an arbor with huge bunches of grapes hanging down.  We just reached up and picked them off the vine as we walked through.  There was actual grass there, too.  Something you don’t see much of in Kurdistan in the summer.  Sahand went with us to help translate.  Much of the discussion centered around the election.  Alan’s mother was not what you might expect from a woman of her generation.  She was deeply passionate about her political thoughts and expressed them freely.  It was wonderful to see.  Of course, seeing Alan’s home and meeting his family helps me to understand him better.  I adored his family just as much as I adore him.  His nephew Aria, who is 3 1/2 years old was so precious.  He entertained us all evening!

Today includes lunch at Bashdar’s home, a dress rehearsal with the orchestra from 4-5:30 and the concert at 7.  I’m sure we’ll go out after the concert.  I’m not too sure what tomorrow will bring besides lunch at Honar’s house.  Wednesday we’re planning a day trip to Halubja, inshallah.  I really want to see the museum there that is dedicated to the victims of Saddam’s attempts to inhilate the Kurdish race.

Friday and Saturday

Yesterday began like most others, with private lessons.  I’m enjoying working with everyone in a one-on-one setting as well as in the large group.  After the morning of lessons, we went to lunch at Zana’s parent’s house.  We had a wonderful time and a fantastic meal with his mom and dad, his brother, his sisters and sister-in-law.  It was an overwhelming amount of food and every bite was delicious!  His parents are so sweet and loving, it’s easy to see why he’s such a great guy.  More lessons in the afternoon then orchestra rehearsal.  All went very well.

After the rehearsal, I had plans to spend some time with Honar.  He met me at the end of rehearsal and told me we were meeting his friend Rabin (who plays the santoor–an incredible instrument) and we were going up into the mountains.  I went to the mountains last year and enjoyed it thoroughly.  We went to a different area this year.  We drove quite a while then found a place to park.  They made me shut my eyes and led me out of the car without looking and walked me to the edge of the plateau where we had parked.  When I opened my eyes, my breath was taken away.  Seeing Suli at night from that height was an amazing sight!  I had only been out of the car a few minutes when I started getting goose bumps.  I was actually cold!  It had been 100 degrees that day, but it was cold up in the mountains at night.  It was a great evening.  We had to get home by midnight, as most roads would be blocked off due to next day’s elections.

I had the day off today, as no one wanted to schedule anything with the election going on.  There were military people everywhere with guns, most roads were blocked off, no one was allowed to drive without special permits until after 6:00 p.m.  So many precautions.  And it seems to have paid off, as the day was quiet.  Quiet, but not without some controversy.  You can read about that here.  It was nice to have a day off–my first in the 16 days I’ve been here.  I was pretty lazy in the morning, then Awder, Honar, Bashdar, Zana and I went to Melody Cafe for coffee.  Afterwards, Zana went to get Rezhwan and the rest of us took a walk through Freedom Park.  It’s an area that used to be a military camp where Saddam had his soldiers trained.  It was also the site of many executions and mass graves.  After Saddams fall, the bodies were exumed and given proper burial and the grounds were turned into a park with gardens and very aptly named Freedom Park.  It’s a powerful feeling to see these adorable little Kurdish children running and playing games on soil that once saw such violence.  I hope they will never see history repeat itself.

Elgar and Disco

This was a pretty great day.  I taught private lessons all morning.  Then, in the afternoon, Zana and Rezhwan took Marc and me to Rezhwan’s family’s home for lunch.  Holy cow . . . can her mom cook!  We had kifta (ground lamb and spices rolled in a large ball and coated in some kind of breading) served with this soup of tomato, garbanzo beans and greens, chicken brianni (one of my favorites), stewed apricots with rasins and Rezhwan made tepsi (tomatoes and eggplant that have this wonderfully sweet flavor).  It was Rezhwan’s mother, her three brothers, sister and the four of us.  We ate on the living room floor that had been spread with a table cloth.  The food just kept coming and everything was amazing.  That has to be the best meal I’ve had since I started this trip.  And I really love Rezhwan’s family.  They’re so sweet and kind.  Rezhwan’s brother, Hawber, speaks very good english as he worked in England for a while.  Her sister speaks a little English, but the other two brothers and her mother do not speak English at all.  It didn’t matter.  We communicated the important things and had a great time.

This evening one of the local television stations came and shot some footage and did some interviews about what we’re doing.  For the rehearsal, we worked on Hoe Down and the first two movements of the Elgar Serenade.  Hoe Down is sounding great!  Good tempo and great character.  We did some good work on the first movement of Elgar–they’re starting to understand the stylistic ideas I’ve been working on with them.  The second movement of the Elgar is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written.  When we played through it the first time last night, I thought there was much work to do seduce the music off the page.  Tonight was a different story.  I explained some general ideas and then we went phrase by phrase.  As we worked, I could truly sense them giving every nuance I was requesting.  They’re an amazingly responsive group of musicians.  By the end of the rehearsal what they were doing with this movement was absolutely exquisite.  The icing on the cake was when Zozik Qaradaghi told me he had recently composed for this orchestra and would like e to conduct it.  Last spring I did three of Zozik’s pieces with my MHS Symphonic Orchestra.  I love his music and I’m honored that he asked me to conduct his new work.

After rehearsal, I went with Zana and Rezhwan to a party.  One of Rezhwan’s cousins (one of MANY) lives in Sweden and was home visiting, so the family rented a hall (a banquet room) and got a DJ and had quite a party.  You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Middle Eastern Disco music.  I danced a lot!  They do this line dance sort of thing.  It’s a traditional Kurdish dance, but to a disco beat.  It’s a real hoot!  Rezhwan’s youngest brother, Zardasht, who’s 17, refused to dance.  People kept trying to get him to the dance floor, but he’d have none of it.  I motioned to the dance floor several times and he’d just grin and shake his head.  Eventually, a couple of guys kidnapped him, picking him up and carrying him to the dance floor.  It was fun to watch and he as laughing so hard I thought he’d explode.  About five minutes later, as I’m sitting, trying to catch my breath, someone grabs my hand and starts dragging me back to the dance floor.  It was Zardasht, with that big grin on his face.  I’m too old to dance this much!  But what a wonderful time I had!