Seeds of Hope
“From Baghdad to Malta…bringing East and West together through Music”
URI’s catalytic role in bringing about a musical interreligious peacebuilding concert in Malta through its CARAVAN CC
Kahlil Gibran, the early 20th century Lebanese artist and poet, best known for his mystical work The Prophet, perhaps more than anyone else illustrated through his life and work the importance of bridging the spiritual traditions of the East and West. Interestingly, the first work he ever published, in 1905, was a small booklet written on music. In it he wrote these prophetic words: “Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”
Certainly, in the midst of today increasing chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the creeds of the Middle East and West, Christians, Muslims and Jews, our day alls for a whole new type of movement: a movement of “creative demonstrations of dialogue”.
In January 2014 a young award-winning Jewish composer named Doron Kima, who was at that time a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, made contact with Bishop Bill Swing concerning a vision he had. Doron’s vision developed out of his own “mixed background”. Doron’s parents, while Jewish, came from Iraq and only later in life did they move to Israel. Therefore Doron grew up in what he calls a “Jewish-Arabic” context. Unlike other families in their community, his parents, while “Jewish,” where also culturally Arab. Therefore all the music in their home was Arabic music and Doron grew up listening to this as a child.
Doron, having a gift for music, went on to be classically trained in both Europe and the US, resulting in his Doctor of Music Composition degree at Florida State University. However, all along he retained a love for Arabic music. This led to developing a passion for, which became a calling, finding ways to compose for orchestra and Arabic musical theory and Arabic instruments with the objective of fostering collaboration between Jews, Muslims and Christians.
Sitting with Bishop Swing, Doran shared how he had composed a work titled Seeds of Hope for both orchestra, and the Arabic instruments of oud (lute) and ney (reed flute). Doron explained his vision for the Seeds of Hope composition as a way to bridge between the faiths of the East and West as it is an amalgamation of two different musical traditions, western classical and Arabic music, into a single cohesive work.
Always the networker and “connecter,” Bishop Bill introduced Doron to Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler, the President/Founder of CARAVAN, one of URI’s CCs whose mission is “peacebuilding through the arts between the creeds and cultures of the East and West.” At the URI office, Doron shared his vision with Paul-Gordon and together they began to dream about what could be done to see this profound composition professionally and strategically performed.
Now that dream is coming true on December 4, 2015.
CARAVAN decided Malta would be a symbolic location to host the premiere performance of Seeds of Hope due to Malta being an historic icon of East-West interaction, both culturally and religiously. Also, in late 2015, Malta is hosting in their ancient city of Mdina, the Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennele in which CARAVAN is playing a major partnership role. The “East-West” nature of Malta is nowhere more clearly represented than in the ancient city of Mdina, which owes its primary architecture to the Arab period.
In the heart of the city of Mdina stands the magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral. This impressive cathedral is the host of the Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale to be held between 13 November 2015 and 7 January 2016. Dozens of premier contemporary artists from around the Mediterranean will participate in this unique art initiative under the theme of “Spirituality and the Other”.
CARAVAN arranged to meet with the principal conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra about the possibility of them performing the world premiere of Seeds of Hope. They not only agreed but will be doing so at no charge due to the humanitarian peacebuilding nature of the work and the critical need at this time to build bridges between the Middle East and West. CARAVAN has also recruited oud and ney players who will be performing alongside the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.
Thanks to URI’s catalytic role, CARAVAN will be now be facilitating the world premiere of Seeds of Hope on December 4, 2015 at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina, Malta. The concert will be the musical centerpiece of the Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale. Under the direction of conductor Raoul Lay, the concert will be performed by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, oud player Andrew Alamango, and a ney musician from North Africa.
All are invited to the world premiere of this special musical peacebuilding concert.
