In 2008, Paul MacAlindin, a Scottish conductor living in Cologne, Germany, found out about the existence of a youth orchestra in Iraq in an entirely old-fashioned way: by reading a newspaper while sitting in a restaurant in Edinburgh.

"When I saw the headline, 'Teenagers from Iraq are looking for a conductor for their orchestra,' I immediately thought that could be a project for me," MacAlindin said. "And I also had an idea about how I could make it happen."

Rocky start

Once he got home, the conductor got in contact with the teenage Iraqi pianist and orchestra founder Zuhal Sultan by way of the British Council. Both musicians agreed to do a test phase of the project in summer 2009 in northern Iraq.

MacAlindin related mixed feelings as he travelled to the Middle East with several assistants because he knew the project would involve bringing people from a number of backgrounds together: Kurdish and Arab, Christian and Muslim. He asked himself if it would all go smoothly.

The Kurdish people had faced heavy repression under Saddam Hussein's regime, while tensions between the various ethnic and religious groups within Iraq had grown since the start of the war in 2003.

"But after some difficulties at the beginning, we were able to break the ice at a birthday party of one of the participants pretty early on," recalled Paul MacAlindin. By the end of the workshop, everyone was sad to part.

Internet casting

In light of the difficult living circumstances, getting a classical education at a music school hasn't been possible for most in Iraq.

As such, MacAlindin was surprised by the relatively high proficiency of the instrumentalists he heard during auditions. Most of them are self-taught and gained their skills by way of reading websites and learning to play online.

"They don't hang out at Starbucks because there's simply not a Starbucks or something like it there," MacAlindin explained. "The young people stay at home or go to Internet cafes and spend their time online."

"They can really do a lot with the Internet and are perhaps even better at it than the young people here in Germany," he added.

It's no surprise then that the young Iraqi musicians also auditioned for the next summer workshop in 2010 by way of a demo posted on the Internet.

War wounds

One thing stood out in particular to MacAlindin during casting for the workshop.

"My first impression was that the young performers really took their music seriously, almost too seriously. Some of them struck me as if they were already adults - that youthful pleasure and excitement in making music was missing somehow," MacAlindin said.

That could easily be tied with the wartime conditions prevailing in Iraq since 2003. But, the conductor stressed, the videos also showed a different kind of motivation, enthusiasm and love of music.

Since then, the workshops have shown that music can help the young players overcome the traumas of the war while also easing some of the tensions among the various ethnic groups in the orchestra.

Musical-cultural exchange in Bonn

Until now, the orchestra has practiced and performed in the comparatively safe northern part of Iraq, but this summer, Paul MacAlindin and the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq are planning their first performance in Baghdad. They'll follow it up with their first concert abroad in early October, where they're guest performers at the Beethovenfest in Bonn, Germany.

In the Orchestra Campus at the Beethovenfest they'll join forces with members of Germany's own National Youth Orchestra. During the two-week stay, the young musicians will receive joint instruction, get to know other musicians, attend concerts and discover Beethoven's city of birth.

For their German counterparts, the visit will likely prove equally exciting - the concert program includes standards like Beethoven and Haydn but also two world premieres. As a media partner at the festival, Deutsche Welle has commissioned two works for the combined youth orchestra, one by a Kurdish and one by an Arab composer.

The young German musicians will have the chance to experience and perform contemporary music from the Middle East while picking up authentic playing techniques for that music from their colleagues.

Getting connected

Wanting to learn more about contemporary music in the Middle East was another reason for Paul MacAlindin to get involved in the project.

"I had no idea about their music or culture, and that's what drew me in. I've learned a lot from these young musicians," MacAlindin said.

"I hope that we serve as an example of hope and commitment for other young people," the conductor added. "And I hope that we can prove that young people can build a future for themselves in spite of difficult circumstances - by getting connected via the Internet."

Author: Klaus Gehrke / gsw
Editor: Rick Fulker