Peter Sulski Blog
The views expressed in this blog are those of the individual contributor and not necessarily those of the U.S. Government.
Peter Sulski, American musician and artistic director, joined the U.S. State Department’s cultural envoy program to help Ramallah-based Al Kamandjati Association, a non-governmental music education organization, build a Palestinian youth orchestra for music students across the Palestinian Territories:
Jerusalem here we come....
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Off to the airport, back to the United States for my projects in my home city of Worcester, Massachusetts. Sent from blackberry
Friday, February 27, 2009
Rain, rain, rain. The rain makes our trip to Ramallah longer than usual.
A great meeting with one of our officers at the Consulate to make plans for the continued building of the Al Kamandjati Youth Orchestra that will draw on kids from throughout the West Bank..
Talk of instruments, teachers, and events. Evening concert in Jerusalem, where I say goodbye to everyone for now.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Busy planning my next visit in April, formulating ideas for the youth orchestra concert in early June, the music days, and finally the student summer camp. Weather sunny before much needed rain tomorrow. Will start to work with the students giving them extra lessons to help accelerate learning of their orchestral music.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Another day in Ramallah, culminating in a concert at the Sakakini center. The day was filled with nothing exciting, except for plans for the future (just a dry joke). We have an excellent group of teachers ready to push forward with the children's musical development.......
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
All the way to Jenin today, joining teachers and students to perform in "Al Kamandjati North" concert for students and parents there. The hall was filled to the brim for our one-hour concert. The students are excited to be performing again.
Very excited to hear about the weekly rehearsals that are now occurring every Friday night. The youth orchestra already has a membership of 30 and is conducted by Martin, one of our brass teachers.
Monday, February 23, 2009
In to Ramallah and Al Kamandjati for rehearsals of our upcoming concert including students and faculty; Brahms songs, a Mozart Flute Quartet, a Corello Concerto Grosso with six of our best students, and the uplifting Schumann Piano Quintet. Many things to cover this week, including upcoming April concerts as part of our youth orchestra development, and planning of the Summer Music Days and Summer Festival.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A morning ride to Ramallah and a day spent in the center, with its beautiful French design melding with Jerusalem stone, full of meetings, practise, and an evening rehearsal of Schumann's Piano Quintet in preparation of the week's festivities.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Staving off the usual unpleasant jet lag (I always prefer flying west), Jeries, my excellent driver, conveys me to the Al Kamandjati Center in the middle of old Ramallah. The day is spent catching up with Ramzi, the President and founder of the Association, and a long time friend, and setting the agenda and objectives for the next week. There is much to do in terms of rehearsing with the young students and getting them ready for the concerts in the upcoming week.
An excellent rehearsal in the afternoon in which students and faculty practise together. A multinational crew, violinist and Al Kamandjati teacher Alice(UK), Barenboim Foundation teacher Peter (Germany), and guest Ewa (Poland), combine with the students to make some good progress.
Friday, February 20, 2009
After a long journey to Jerusalem starting in Boston, via New York, via Tel Aviv, it's lovely to see the familiar staff at my favorite Jerusalem hotel, not far from the old city. I'm here on the second of four Cultural Enjoy visits to help the Al Kamandjati Association in Ramallah develop its youth orchestra, a multi-tiered project involving tremendous amounts of organization and long range planning......A quick evening meeting with Stacy, the Consulate’s cultural attache so integral to helping me continue this project, just to catch up and get on the same page. A busy week for her and her colleagues arranging all the various cultural projects taking place....
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