Latest news with #EdwardSaidNationalConservatoryofMusic
DW
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- DW
Gaza: When the oud plays, the war falls silent for a moment – DW – 08/17/2025
Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Gaza College, a school in Gaza City. The walls of the building are riddled with shrapnel, the windows blown out. Three girls and a boy sit in guitar class with their teacher, Mohammed Abu Mahadi. He believes that music can help the residents of the Gaza Strip heal psychologically from the pain of bombing, loss and deprivation. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS At the beginning of 2024, Ahmed Abu Amsha, a guitar and violin teacher, was one of the first of the scattered teachers and students of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music to offer evening classes again to those displaced by the war in southern Gaza. Now he lives in Gaza City in the north again. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS "Music gives me hope and alleviates my anxiety," says 15-year-old Rifan al-Qassas, who began learning to play the oud, an Arabic lute, at the age of nine. Al-Qassas hopes to be able to perform abroad one day. People are deeply concerned about being uprooted again following the Israeli cabinet's decision on August 8 to take control of Gaza City. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS In front of the music teacher's tent lies Gaza City in ruins. Almost all residents are crammed into emergency shelters or camps; food, clean water and medical aid are scarce. Students and teachers are weakened by hunger, and some find it difficult to attend classes. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Palestinian Youssef Saad poses with his oud in front of the destroyed school building. Only a few instruments survived the fighting. At 18 years old, Youssef already has a big dream: "I hope that I can teach children music so that they can see beauty despite the destruction." Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS No matter the dire conditions, learning to play instruments still calls for a performance in front of an audience. In a tent, the music students show off their skills and receive loud applause. The musical repertoire is wide-ranging. A 20-year-old guitar student says, "I love discovering new genres, but especially rock. I'm really into rock." Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Singing also plays an important role. The harmonies of the children's voices on the improvised stage are a welcome contrast to the rhythm of the deadly explosions that the people in Gaza live with every day. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Osama Jahjouh plays the ney flute, which is used in Arabic, Persian and Turkish music. He says, "Sometimes I rely on breathing exercises or playing silently when the shelling is intense. When I play, I feel like I can breathe again, as if the ney is releasing the pain inside me." Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Culture Palestinian Territories 08/17/2025 August 17, 2025
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Strings of hope in a city of ruins
A boy's lilting song drifted through a tent in Gaza City, weaving over the soft hum of instruments and the quiet harmonies of backing singers – a fragile melody that seemed almost otherworldly amid streets now more accustomed to the deadly rhythm of bombs and bullets. On August 4, young students gathered for a lesson led by teachers from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, who have continued instructing from displacement camps and damaged buildings after Israel's bombardments forced the closure of the school's main facility. "When I play, I feel like I'm flying away," said 15-year-old Rifan al-Qassas, who began learning the oud, an Arab lute, at age 9. "Music gives me hope and eases my fear." Al-Qassas says her dream is to perform abroad one day. That aspiration resonated during a weekend class at Gaza College, a school battered by shelling. Violence returned to parts of the city on August 12, with Gazan health authorities reporting more than 120 deaths over recent days. The conservatory was founded in the West Bank and has been a cultural lifeline for Gaza since it opened a branch there 13 years ago, teaching classical music along with popular genres. That changed after Israel launched its war on the enclave on October 7, 2023. Before the bombardments, Israel sometimes granted the best students exit permits to travel outside Gaza to play in the Palestine Youth Orchestra, the conservatory's touring ensemble. Others performed inside Gaza, giving concerts in both Arabic and Western traditions. After 22 months of bombardment, some students are now dead, said Suhail Khoury, the conservatory's president, including 14-year-old violinist Lubna Alyaan, killed along with her family early in the war. The school's old home lies in ruins, walls collapsed, and a grand piano had disappeared. Few instruments have survived the fighting, said Fouad Khader, who coordinates the revived classes for the conservatory. During last week's session, more than a dozen students gathered under the tent's rustling plastic sheets to practice on instruments carefully preserved through the war. "No fig leaf will wither inside us," the boy sang, a line from a popular lament about Palestinian loss through generations of displacement since the 1948 creation of Israel. Three female students practiced the song Greensleeves on guitar outside the tent, while another group of boys tapped out rhythms on Middle Eastern hand drums. Teachers have bought some from other displaced people for students to use. But some have been smashed during bombardment, he said. Instructors have experimented with making their own percussion instruments from empty cans and containers to train children, Khader said. Broad smile Early last year, Ahmed Abu Amsha, a guitar and violin teacher with a big beard and a broad smile, was among the first of the conservatory's scattered teachers and students to begin offering classes again, playing guitar in the evenings among tents of displaced people in southern Gaza, where much of the 2.1 million population had been forced to move by Israeli evacuation orders and bombing. After a cease-fire began in January, Abu Amsha, 43, moved back north to Gaza City, much of which has been flattened by Israeli bombing. For the past six months, has been living and working in the city's central district, For the past six months, he along with colleagues teaching oud, guitar, hand drums and the ney, a reed flute, to students able to reach them in tents or shell-pocked buildings at Gaza College. They also visit kindergartens for sessions with small children. Outside the music teachers' tent, Gaza City lay in a mass of crumbling concrete, with nearly all residents crammed into shelters or camps with little food, clean water or medical aid. Students and teachers say they have to overcome weakness from food shortages to attend classes. Sarah al-Suwairki, 20, said hunger and fatigue sometimes make it difficult to walk the short distance to her two music classes each week, but she loves learning the guitar. "I love discovering new genres, but more specifically rock. I am very into rock," she said. Music therapy In a surviving upstairs room at Gaza College, the walls pocked with shrapnel scars and windows blown out, three girls and a boy sit for a guitar class. Their teacher, Mohammed Abu Mahadi, 32, said music can help heal Gazans psychologically from the pain of bombardments, loss and shortages. "What I do here is make children happy from music because it is one of the best ways for expressing feelings," he said. "Music is a glimmer of hope that all our children and people hold onto in darkness," added Ismail Daoud, 45, who teaches the oud. Elizabeth Coombes, who directs a music therapy programme at Britain's University of South Wales and has done research with Palestinians in the West Bank, said the project could help young people cope with trauma and stress and strengthen their sense of belonging. "For children who have been very badly traumatised or living in conflict zones, the properties of music itself can really help and support people," she said. Daoud said the war had stripped people of their creativity and imagination, reducing their lives to securing basics like food and water. "Returning to art is an escape and a reminder of a larger humanity. The instrument represents the soul of the player, it represents his companion, his entity and his friend," he said.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Gaza's young musicians sing and play in the ruins of war
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox GAZA CITY - A boy's lilting song filled the tent in Gaza City, above an instrumental melody and backing singers' quiet harmonies, soft music that floated into streets these days more attuned to the deadly beat of bombs and bullets. The young students were taking part in a lesson given on August 4 by teachers from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, who have continued classes from displacement camps and shattered buildings even after Israel's bombardments forced them to abandon the school's main building in the city. "When I play I feel like I'm flying away," said Rifan al-Qassas, 15, who started learning the oud, an Arab lute, when she was nine. She hopes to one day play abroad. "Music gives me hope and eases my fear," she said. Al-Qassas hopes to one day play abroad, she said during a weekend class at the heavily shelled Gaza College, a school in Gaza City. Israel's military again pounded parts of the city on August 12, with more than 120 people killed over the past few days, Gazan health authorities say. The conservatory was founded in the West Bank and had been a cultural lifeline for Gaza ever since it opened a branch there 13 years ago, teaching classical music along with popular genres, until Israel launched its war on the Mediterranean enclave in response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Before the fighting, Israel sometimes granted the best students exit permits to travel outside Gaza to play in the Palestine Youth Orchestra, the conservatory's touring ensemble. Others performed inside Gaza, giving concerts in both Arabic and Western traditions. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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The school's old home lies in ruins, according to a video released in January by a teacher. Walls had collapsed and rooms were littered with debris. A grand piano had disappeared. Reuters asked the Israeli military about the damage. The military declined to comment without more details, which Reuters could not establish. During last week's session, over a dozen students gathered under the tent's rustling plastic sheets to practice on instruments carefully preserved through the war and to join together in song and music. "No fig leaf will wither inside us," the boy sang, a line from a popular lament about Palestinian loss through generations of displacement since the 1948 creation of Israel. Three female students practised the song Greensleeves on guitar outside the tent, while another group of boys were tapping out rhythms on Middle Eastern hand drums. Few instruments have survived the fighting, said Fouad Khader, who coordinates the revived classes for the conservatory. Teachers have bought some from other displaced people for the students to use. But some of these have been smashed during bombardment, he said. Instructors have experimented with making their own percussion instruments from empty cans and containers to train children, Khader said. A BROAD SMILE Early last year, Ahmed Abu Amsha, a guitar and violin teacher with a big beard and a broad smile, was among the first of the conservatory's scattered teachers and students who began offering classes again, playing guitar in the evenings among the tents of displaced people in the south of Gaza, where much of the 2.1 million population had been forced to move by Israeli evacuation orders and bombing. Then, after a ceasefire began in January, Abu Amsha, 43, was among the tens of thousands of people who moved back north to Gaza City, much of which has been flattened by Israeli bombing. For the past six months, he has been living and working in the city's central district, along with colleagues teaching oud, guitar, hand drums and the ney, a reed flute, to students able to reach them in the tents or shell-pocked buildings of Gaza College. They also go into kindergartens for sessions with small children. Teachers are also offering music lessons in southern and central Gaza with 12 musicians and three singing tutors instructing nearly 600 students across the enclave in June, the conservatory said. Abu Amsha said teachers and parents of students were currently "deeply concerned" about being uprooted again after the Israeli cabinet's August 8 decision to take control of Gaza City. Israel has not said when it will launch the new offensive. HUNGER AND FATIGUE Outside the music teachers' tent, Gaza City lay in a mass of crumbling concrete, nearly all residents crammed into shelters or camps with hardly any food, clean water or medical aid. The students and teachers say they have to overcome their weakness from food shortages to attend the classes. Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said on August 12 that "famine was unfolding before our eyes" in Gaza. Israel disputes malnutrition figures for the Hamas-run enclave. Sarah al-Suwairki, 20, said sometimes hunger and tiredness mean she cannot manage the short walk to her two music classes each week, but she loves learning the guitar. "I love discovering new genres, but more specifically rock. I am very into rock," she said. Palestinian health authorities say Israel's military campaign has killed more than 61,000 people, including more than 1,400 going to aid points to get food. Israel says Hamas is responsible for the suffering after it started the war, the latest in decades of conflict, with the October 2023 attack from Gaza when its gunmen killed 1,200 people and seized 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. MUSIC THERAPY In a surviving upstairs room at Gaza College, the walls pocked with shrapnel scars, the windows blown out, three girls and a boy sit for a guitar class. Their teacher Mohammed Abu Mahadi, 32, said he thought music could help heal Gazans psychologically from the pain of bombardments, loss and shortages. "What I do here is make children happy from music because it is one of the best ways for expressing feelings," he said. Elizabeth Coombes, who directs a music therapy programme at Britain's University of South Wales and has done research with Palestinians in the West Bank, also said the project could help young people deal with trauma and stress and strengthen their sense of belonging. "For children who have been very badly traumatised or living in conflict zones, the properties of music itself can really help and support people," she said. Ismail Daoud, 45, who teaches the oud, said the war had stripped people of their creativity and imagination, their lives reduced to securing basics like food and water. Returning to art was an escape and a reminder of a larger humanity. "The instrument represents the soul of the player, it represents his companion, his entity and his friend," he said. "Music is a glimmer of hope that all our children and people hold onto in darkness," he said. REUTERS
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Gaza's young musicians sing and play in the ruins of war
* Gaza's young musicians sing and play in the ruins of war Photo essay: By Dawoud Abu Alkas GAZA CITY, - A boy's lilting song filled the tent in Gaza City, above an instrumental melody and backing singers' quiet harmonies, soft music that floated into streets these days more attuned to the deadly beat of bombs and bullets. The young students were taking part in a lesson given on August 4 by teachers from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, who have continued classes from displacement camps and shattered buildings even after Israel's bombardments forced them to abandon the school's main building in the city. "When I play I feel like I'm flying away," said Rifan al-Qassas, 15, who started learning the oud, an Arab lute, when she was nine. She hopes to one day play abroad. "Music gives me hope and eases my fear," she said. Al-Qassas hopes to one day play abroad, she said during a weekend class at the heavily shelled Gaza College, a school in Gaza City. Israel's military again pounded parts of the city on August 12, with more than 120 people killed over the past few days, Gazan health authorities say. The conservatory was founded in the West Bank and had been a cultural lifeline for Gaza ever since it opened a branch there 13 years ago, teaching classical music along with popular genres, until Israel launched its war on the Mediterranean enclave in response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Before the fighting, Israel sometimes granted the best students exit permits to travel outside Gaza to play in the Palestine Youth Orchestra, the conservatory's touring ensemble. Others performed inside Gaza, giving concerts in both Arabic and Western traditions. After 22 months of bombardment, some of the students are now dead, said Suhail Khoury, the conservatory's president, including 14-year-old violinist Lubna Alyaan, killed along with her family early in the war. The school's old home lies in ruins, according to a video released in January by a teacher. Walls had collapsed and rooms were littered with debris. A grand piano had disappeared. Reuters asked the Israeli military about the damage. The military declined to comment without more details, which Reuters could not establish. During last week's session, over a dozen students gathered under the tent's rustling plastic sheets to practice on instruments carefully preserved through the war and to join together in song and music. "No fig leaf will wither inside us," the boy sang, a line from a popular lament about Palestinian loss through generations of displacement since the 1948 creation of Israel. Three female students practised the song Greensleeves on guitar outside the tent, while another group of boys were tapping out rhythms on Middle Eastern hand drums. Few instruments have survived the fighting, said Fouad Khader, who coordinates the revived classes for the conservatory. Teachers have bought some from other displaced people for the students to use. But some of these have been smashed during bombardment, he said. Instructors have experimented with making their own percussion instruments from empty cans and containers to train children, Khader said. A BROAD SMILE Early last year, Ahmed Abu Amsha, a guitar and violin teacher with a big beard and a broad smile, was among the first of the conservatory's scattered teachers and students who began offering classes again, playing guitar in the evenings among the tents of displaced people in the south of Gaza, where much of the 2.1 million population had been forced to move by Israeli evacuation orders and bombing. Then, after a ceasefire began in January, Abu Amsha, 43, was among the tens of thousands of people who moved back north to Gaza City, much of which has been flattened by Israeli bombing. For the past six months, he has been living and working in the city's central district, along with colleagues teaching oud, guitar, hand drums and the ney, a reed flute, to students able to reach them in the tents or shell-pocked buildings of Gaza College. They also go into kindergartens for sessions with small children. Teachers are also offering music lessons in southern and central Gaza with 12 musicians and three singing tutors instructing nearly 600 students across the enclave in June, the conservatory said. Abu Amsha said teachers and parents of students were currently "deeply concerned" about being uprooted again after the Israeli cabinet's August 8 decision to take control of Gaza City. Israel has not said when it will launch the new offensive. HUNGER AND FATIGUE Outside the music teachers' tent, Gaza City lay in a mass of crumbling concrete, nearly all residents crammed into shelters or camps with hardly any food, clean water or medical aid. The students and teachers say they have to overcome their weakness from food shortages to attend the classes. Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said on August 12 that "famine was unfolding before our eyes" in Gaza. Israel disputes malnutrition figures for the Hamas-run enclave. Sarah al-Suwairki, 20, said sometimes hunger and tiredness mean she cannot manage the short walk to her two music classes each week, but she loves learning the guitar. "I love discovering new genres, but more specifically rock. I am very into rock," she said. Palestinian health authorities say Israel's military campaign has killed more than 61,000 people, including more than 1,400 going to aid points to get food. Israel says Hamas is responsible for the suffering after it started the war, the latest in decades of conflict, with the October 2023 attack from Gaza when its gunmen killed 1,200 people and seized 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. MUSIC THERY In a surviving upstairs room at Gaza College, the walls pocked with shrapnel scars, the windows blown out, three girls and a boy sit for a guitar class. Their teacher Mohammed Abu Mahadi, 32, said he thought music could help heal Gazans psychologically from the pain of bombardments, loss and shortages. "What I do here is make children happy from music because it is one of the best ways for expressing feelings," he said. Elizabeth Coombes, who directs a music therapy programme at Britain's University of South Wales and has done research with Palestinians in the West Bank, also said the project could help young people deal with trauma and stress and strengthen their sense of belonging. "For children who have been very badly traumatised or living in conflict zones, the properties of music itself can really help and support people," she said. Ismail Daoud, 45, who teaches the oud, said the war had stripped people of their creativity and imagination, their lives reduced to securing basics like food and water. Returning to art was an escape and a reminder of a larger humanity. "The instrument represents the soul of the player, it represents his companion, his entity and his friend," he said. "Music is a glimmer of hope that all our children and people hold onto in darkness," he said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
RTÉ News
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Watch: We sing for peace, says Gaza music teacher
A music teacher in Gaza is hoping to bring some "light in darkness" to children affected by displacement by offering music lessons. Ahmed Abu Amsha lives in a makeshift camp in Al-Jundi Al-Majhool Square. The square which was once the throbbing heart of Gaza City now shelters hundreds of families living in difficult conditions. Ahmed is a guitar instructor and regional coordinator at Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. Originally from Beit Hanoun, Ahmed and his family have been displaced for over 19 months as a result of the war. Ahmed and his family have taken their instruments with them each time they fled. "They're the only thing that keeps us hopeful," said Ahmed. Ahmed is also the founder of Gaza Bird Singing (GBS). The group aims to foster the musical talents of displaced Gazan children. It has performed several shows in various displacement camps.
