On Sunday, a group of OUO players volunteered to workshop a selection of new works by Afghan composers in preparation for their performance at the Spitalfields music festival. Over the course of the afternoon, we played and provided editorial feedback on works by Oambar Nawshad (Hope), Qudrat Wasefi (Nastaran), Elaha Soroor/Matt Holborn (Sarban), Ghafar Maliknezhad (Daa Zemoong Ziba Watan), Mohsen Saifi (Asta Boro), Milad Yousufi, and Arson Fahim (Dance of Terror) with the support of Dr Sadie Harrison and conducted by Dr Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey.
This workshop was part of The Orchestral Music of Afghanistan: Looking Forward project, a commissioning and performance project to celebrate Afghanistan's history of orchestral music-making while providing a platform for the flourishing creativity of Afghan composers and musicians who are now in exile or hiding, unable to make music in their own country. The orchestras of Afghanistan are unique in that they usually encompass a fusion of traditional Afghan instruments with those of European heritage - the combination of which define the essentially Afghan timbral and rhythmic qualities of these ensembles. You can find out more about the Orchestral Music of Afghanistan project here:
Orchestral Music of Afghanistan | Looking Forward
