“Music means a lot to me since it raises my self-confidence and improves my team-work skills,” Hiba al-Shami said. “It also gives me the opportunity to express myself. “Music is like a friend who works on taking off anxiety and negativity from me,” she added. “My favorite instrument is piano, and I have been playing it for about two years.”
The 17-year-old Palestinian refugee, currently living in the Burj al-Barajneh camp, is one of 39 aspiring musicians taking part in Al Kamandjati Association’s retreat.
The Palestinian NGO, founded in 2002, is holding a weeklong music camp in Kfar Dhebian for refugees living in the Burj al-Barajneh and Shatila camps aged 8 to 23. The program commenced Aug. 17 and will culminate Aug. 22 with a concert at Masrah al-Madina.
“The activities of Al Kamandjati have been running in Lebanon for 10 years and our main goal is to build a generation of professional Palestinian musicians who can represent their country worldwide,” Nour AbouRayya, the NGO’s Lebanon program coordinator, told The Daily Star. “They are selected according to a general, music appreciation class, which determines their talents and their interests in which instruments.
“It’s better if they have a musical ability, but we believe that everyone can learn music,” she added. “The training program during the summer camp focuses on developing the musical skills of the students, and the teachers work on the weak points of their students.”
While the workshops are open to anyone, the two camps have plenty of musical talents who readily took to the opportunity.
“Music is all about creativity, so we are never done from learning new information about it,” Shami said. “I hope to know more about music and play music with different people in the workshops. We can share musical information in a useful and interesting way.”
Ahmad Moussa, a 10-year-old violinist living in the Shatila camp, was eager for the retreat to begin.
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“I like music because I think it would be a good job for my future, and it is joyful at the same time,” he told The Daily Star. “My favorite instrument is the violin and I’ve been playing it for about a year.
“I hope to learn new things about music and improve my skills to achieve my dream of being a professional violinist,” he added. “I’d love to know other kids who live in refugee camps because we may become close friends.”
Titled “Our Music is The Hope,” the Beirut concert will celebrate Al Kamandjati’s decadelong run of workshops in Lebanon. It will also be an opportunity for the students to showcase their talents and what they’ve learned during the retreat, by performing both ensemble and solo pieces.
“As long as Al Kamandjati has the ability to work with the students in Lebanon, the yearly music education program and the annual summer camp will not stop,” AbouRayya said. The students can go on to “be teachers or they can be a part of a professional band, for example. There are plenty of opportunities.”
The students expressed a mixture of emotions regarding their impending show. Though some were a little nervous about performing for an audience for the first time, Shami had no such reservations.
“I’m super excited for the final performance!” Shami said. “Actually I’m not feeling that nervous because I believe that practice makes perfect.”
“Our Music is The Hope” will be staged at Masrah al-Madina, Hamra, Aug. 22 at 8 p.m. Tickets at antoineticketing.com."
This article has been adapted from its original source.
