Jerusalem Orchestra goes virtual with original piece written by conductor

April 1, 2020 by JNS
Read on for article

The Jerusalem Orchestra East & West performed virtually last week with its 36 musicians playing music from their homes in New York and Israel.

Under the leadership of Tom Cohen, the orchestra’s artistic director and chief conductor, the musicians played a new original piece called “Darbuka La Corona,” written by Cohen.

The nearly three-minute clip of their performance was posted on the orchestra’s Facebook page and has already garnered more than 1,000 views since being uploaded on March 25.

Cohen wrote on the orchestra’s Facebook page: “One morning during the first week of this corona frenzy, I suddenly realized that for me, as well as for my orchestra׳s members, this is the first time in 11 years we do not wake up for days of rehearsals, concerts, arrangements, composition and other creative activities that have become our daily routine. When I realized that the orchestra’s WhatsApp group continued to be vibrant and active—I immediately sat down to do the only thing I know-how … I wrote a small piece that aims to make us all happy and show our love and familiarity that is more powerful than anything else. I wanted it to be both very simple yet complexed, ‘high’ but at eye level–just like us.”

He added, “I hope these sounds and images, of all 35 members of the orchestra, regardless their age, religion, gender or origin—from Majd al krum to Ashkelon, from Jerusalem to New York—celebrating love and longing for friendship and music, will help us all go through this period together.”

JNS

Speak Your Mind

Comments received without a full name will not be considered
Email addresses are NEVER published! All comments are moderated. J-Wire will publish considered comments by people who provide a real name and email address. Comments that are abusive, rude, defamatory or which contain offensive language will not be published

Got something to say about this?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from J-Wire

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading