The Palestinian National Orchestra

The Palestinian National Orchestra first performed on a rainy New Year’s Eve in 2010 at the Cultural Palace in Ramallah. Every seat in the concert hall was taken and dozens more spectators watched the concert from a live cinema screen outside the venue. The infancy of this group was fraught with emotion as many of the musicians had never before traveled to their country of origin, and the nine who joined from Egypt, Syria and Jordan - particularly those with refugee status - would certainly not have imagined performing in the towns their ancestors built whilst growing up in exile. Red tape by the occupying authorities made the go ahead for this project uncertain to the last minute, but miraculously – the orchestra managed to develop its own sound and work against the grain, to deliver classical music of the highest quality to a dynamic audience that welcomed this new band of musicians with an enthusiasm that would make most orchestras internationally water at the mouth.

The members of this unique ensemble are professional musicians of Palestinian origin working in concert halls and opera houses around the world, and a select few musicians who are teaching or have previously taught at Palestinian music institutions. These top-flight classical musicians have regularly performed in orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Amman Symphony, Syrian Symphony, Sarasota Symphony, New World Symphony, Lebanese National Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Deutsches Symphonie Orchester – Berlin.
 
The first PNO tour of Palestinian cities included three halls in Ramallah, Jerusalem and Haifa, under the skillfull direction of the acclaimed Swiss conductor Baldur Brönnimann, joined by the charismatic Palestinian-Japanese soprano Mariam Tamari. The programme included music by Ligeti, Mozart, Arnita and Bethoven.

Membership of the PNO is by invitation of the ESNCM in Jerusalem. Any professional musicians of Palestinian origin interested in joining the PNO should contact the orchestra manager Tim Pottier, timpottier@googlemail.com, tel: 0–5-68195492

CONCERTS

31st December 2010
Ramallah Cultural Palace, Ramallah

1st January 2011
Al Hamra Palace – East Jerusalem

2nd January 2011
The Krieger Hall – Haifa