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Art to bridge cultures

— Photo: AP

HARMONY: Haj Youness plays ‘oud,’ a Moroccan instrument, in Casablanca. He is one of those who are creating a world music ensemble.

WASHINGTON: An ensemble of musicians separated by oceans and thousands of kilometres will perform together this month for the first time, having composed music layer-by-layer with sound files exchanged over the Net.

Their goal: Show how the arts can bridge diverse cultures — even among people who have never met before coming together on stage.

A singer and instrumentalist from Afghanistan, a guitarist from Iran, a bass player from Ethiopia and drummers from Morocco are part of the ensemble. They will accompany American Jewish tenor Alberto Mizrahi, Moroccan singer Haj Youness, who is Muslim and serves as dean of the Casablanca Conservatory of Music, and renowned American keyboard and harmonica legend Howard Levy.

Performances will be August 25 and 26 at Lincoln Park in Chicago, August 27 at the Kennedy Centre in Washington and later in Casablanca. “It’s just a delicious space of creativity,” said Wendy Sternberg, an advocate of diplomacy through the arts who organised the events as director of the Chicago-based Genesis at the Crossroads.

“I’m interested in not only showing that Arab and Jewish and Persian musicians can share the same stage but they can actually work together and create new art,” she said. “In doing that, they make a statement that’s really profound about how the world can be transformed through people collaborating.”

Some experts in conflict resolution suggest interfaith dialogue or political symposiums, but Ms. Sternberg says the arts have a unique power to connect with and inspire core human values.

For the third year, Ms. Sternberg’s organisation is producing the outdoor food, art and music festival known as HAMSA-Fest in Lincoln Park, named for an expression of luck from the Arabic root word for the number five. — AP

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