Choir of Joy (Joqat al Farah) US Tour

I found this very interesting article about “Arabesque” festival, written by “James Zogby”, and couldn’t resist sharing it with everybody… a link to the original article is provided below and here is the paragraph that concerns the Choir… Hoping you’ll enjoy it as much as i did.

“……And so, when the curtain rose on the opening night of Arabesque, and I saw 140 Syrian children of the Al-Farah Choir, I was, in fact, overwhelmed. Thankful, that after thirty years of combating negative stereotypes and defending my heritage, I would see the day when, in my nation’s premier cultural center there would be a celebration of Arab arts and letters. The culture of my people was being recognized. I looked at the smiles and joyful movements of those youngsters and felt pride in their accomplishment. They are our little ambassadors. They, and the hundreds of others on the program who traveled thousands of miles to join the festival, were defining, better than any politicians, what it means to be an Arab, using the universal language of art……”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-zogby/arabesque_b_170640.html

Many thanks to James Zogby. The article is more than wonderful.

My name is Hadi Yaziji. I live in Miami, FL. I am writing this post a few days after the marvelous performance of the choir in Jacksonville, which I had the honor of attending in person. Even though I’ve known the choir for decades and I’m well aware of their very high level of sophistication, this live performance took my feelings to a whole different level. That was one of the most memorable nights in my entire life. It is difficult for words to describe the feeling of joy, pride and excitement that I had during and after the show. You can also sense it on the faces of these innocent kids who gave it their best despite their exhaustion–as if they knew they were up to something big– planting the seeds for the future. This performance was above and beyond a marvelous performance. It indeed took us all by surprise, and kind of reminded us that this unbelievable group is ‘imposing’ a deep message of peace, power and respect to that part of the world. I have no doubt that this trip has already done a great job in building a solid bridge between Syria and the US, both culturally and politically. They earned the respect of their viewers, with all the national news coverage they received. It’s indeed a blessing.

I would be honored to participate in some sort of foundation that will facilitate bringing the choir back to the US for more performances, hopefully each year, to spread the word of peace and respect through music.

See you in Miami in 2010 or 2011.