The International Orchestra Campus is organized as a joint project between Deutsche Welle and the Beethovenfest Bonn music festival. Since 2001, young musicians have annually been invited to perform in Bonn, Beethoven's town of birth, with a piece by the composer himself as well as a work commissioned by Deutsche Welle from a composer from the visiting musicians' own country.

This year's guests were the Iraqi National Youth Orchestra - and one of their patrons is German President Christian Wulff. The head of state attended the concert and then discussed it with us.

Deutsche Welle: You have listened to the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq and you have spoken to the musicians. You know the project a little: workshops, concerts and cultural dialogue. What is your impression of the International Orchestra Campus project?

Christian Wulff: It is such a great symbol of hope that the different groups from Iraq increasingly understand and relate to each other better. It is also a symbol for the outside world: With western music played by an orchestra of Arab and Kurdish musicians it is possible to show that music connects people. It really is the right thing for bringing together people of different approaches, ideas and backgrounds.

You have heard two premieres, by Ali Authman and Mohammed Ezzat, commissioned by Deutsche Welle. What is the role of contemporary art and music in cultural dialogue?

I find it quite important that one strives again and again for the avant garde and the crowd loved it. For me it is always important to harbor respect for new approaches and different perspectives in this process. That way, one grows wiser. One sees the way a piece is composed from an Arab point of view or from a Kurdish point of view. It was a very exciting evening and I think that all of the musicians are simply overwhelmed by the positive response from the public.

Cultural dialogue is also at the heart of your work. How important do you find for dialog between different peoples? What role do music and culture play in foreign cultural work?

Europe is indeed well advanced in terms of mutual understanding following bitter world wars. The founders of today's Europe said later that, rather than starting with the economy, it would have been preferable to start with culture because agreement is easiest if you are open to different people and things that are different. I've seen that here this evening and it is very inspiring. That is why I think that projects such as the one by Deutsche Welle are great, financially supporting such compositions so that they are performed and can enrich the musical world.

Not only is Deutsche Welle a supporter of culture that awards commissions, it is also a media organization. What role can the media play in international dialog between peoples?

There are a lot of concerts and cultural highlights available through the internet and now the young generation in the Arab world, in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia are using the internet to find out about things and to understand each other and be open to what is new. Here, Deutsche Welle plays a big role because its reception quality in many countries of the world has improved and because it can distribute content through the Internet.

Author: Gero Schliess / rf, rc
Editor: Mark Hallam