To carry out its various musical programs despite pandemic-related restrictions, the ESNCM has made great efforts to secure distance learning and applied technologies that enabled students and teachers to continue the educational process. As the Conservatory was directly affected by the epidemiological situation that pervaded the country, these technologies helped teachers develop new methods for transmitting musical and instrument-specific technical information to students, and we have managed to achieve the high levels of proficiency that the ESNCM has traditionally presented in the past. Moreover, this critical period was distinguished by the introduction of new programs, such as the establishment of a new program to teach ney (Arabic flute), launched in January in the Bethlehem and Jerusalem branches. Conservatory teachers Osama Jahhouh (Gaza), Musa Abbasi (Jerusalem), and Faris Eshaq (Bethlehem) embarked on this project following the success of an experiment carried out in Gaza, where students such as Rima Ashour have reached advanced levels on this instrument.

The Conservatory’s ney program constitutes a major component of the Arabic music program that helped generate interest in learning this instrument that beautifully reflects the human voice and is one of the most difficult instruments in the wind instrument family.