From 16th – 21st February 2015 the ESNCM held its second Activities Week in the branches. Activities Weeks were introduced in this academic year, and are held 3 times per year, replacing the regular teaching schedule. Varied musical activities give students the chance to have new musical experiences and learn about music in unusual ways, in a relaxed environment. They are also an opportunity for teachers to explore different avenues in musical education and utilize their diverse talents.

While Palestine suffered under its second snowstorm of the year, Ramallah branch held 3 days of activities out of the planned 6 days. The broad themes of the week were ‘the voice’ and ‘early music’, and activities included: Drawing in Renaissance style; an Irish music session which involved flutes, guitars, French horns, trumpets and tin whistles amongst others; chamber music rehearsals; piano group workshops; an Improvisation class; a jazz band session; a preparatory theory class who composed their own Gregorian Chants; the Bustan al-Musiqa group painting musical wall hangings; and another Bustan group painting their own clay pots which they use as drums throughout the year. Existing Arabic music ensembles also held extended rehearsals during the week. Many of the groups performed at the end of their activity in the lobby of the branch, which attracted large crowds of friends, family and fellow students. There was even a bass octet performance during an electrical blackout, just as the winter storm was building.

 

Activities Week in Nablus consisted of four events: an Irish music session run by Irish piano and flute teacher Hannah Gallagher; a guitar workshop with teachers Hisham Abu Jabal and Ashraf Dabbah; a violin masterclass with guest tutor and former ESNCM teacher and conductor Mathilde Vittu; and a lecture-performance on the relationship and mutual influence between Western and Arabic music in the middle ages. The lecture was given by Professor Francis Biggi from the Geneva Conservatoire, and Professor Francis then performed on the Lute, accompanied by two Jerusalemite musicians, Osama Abu Arafeh (oud) and Mohammad Ghosheh (violin), who are former students of the ESNCM and who spent time studying at Geneva Conservatoire in an exchange program between the two institutions.

 

The Jerusalem branch hosted a group from the Early Music Department of the Geneva Conservatoire, which included 4 advanced students and Professor Francis Biggi, dean of the Early Music Department. The group, consisting of players of portative organ, baroque cello, viola da gamba, recorder and lute, worked with several groups at the branch, including Maqamat al-Quds, an oud group, an Oriental percussion group, a Western percussion group, and ESNCM choirs, over the course of the Activities Week. The lecture-performance which took place in Nablus was also delivered in Jerusalem. The culmination of the project was a concert in the Ecole-Biblique (Dominican) on Saturday 21st February, where around 50 ESNCM students joined with the group from Geneva in a joint performance in front of a packed venue. In addition to this project, Activities Week also contained a group guitar workshop and film, and a theory workshop.
 

Bethlehem branch Activities Week consisted of workshops with ESNCM guitar and bass teachers Pedro Lopez de la Osa and Vito Galante. The first guitar workshop was more theoretical and focused on the history of the Guitar, and second was a practical workshop about effects on the Guitar. There were also two contrabass workshops: the first concentrated on theory and sight reading, and the second was a practical session dealing with aspects of playing the bass.