The Palestinian Ministry of Culture awarded the Palestine Appreciation of Lifetime Achievement in Literature, the Arts, and Humanities award to Ms. Rima Tarazi, the chairwoman of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Palestine’s Board of Supervisors, for her overall work. The award honors Mrs. Tarazi’s continuous engagement over nearly seven decades while living the struggle and walking the path of our Palestinian people. Her oeuvre includes the musical setting of works by prominent poets and the composition of songs and lyrics inspired by the struggle of our people and their steadfastness under occupation. Among the poets for whose poems she composed melodies are Omar Abu Risha, Abu al-Qasim al-Shabbi, Ibrahim Tuqan, Fadwa Tuqan, Mahmoud Darwish, Samih al-Qasim, and the martyr poet Kamal Nasir. In 2013, she collected 37 of these songs based on poems in an eight-volume collection titled “Songs of Freedom and Hope,” consisting of 16 books for piano and choir or voice.
Artist and musician Rima Tarazi is a founding member of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music (ESNCM), the chairwoman of its Board of Supervisors, and a member of Birzeit University’s Board of Trustees. In addition, she is an activist for social, educational, and humanitarian causes who has worked in many educational and feminist institutions, including Inash Al Usra Association, the General Union of Women, and the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA).