The Handala Project

We'll soon be presenting the full story of how The Handala Project came about. But for now, here's an excerpt from our original plan that will tell you a little bit about where we're coming from...

The Background

The conflict that has plagued Israel and Palestine for so long has become the primary image that many Westerners associate with the Middle East . Detailed awareness of Middle Eastern cultural history and cultural identity, particularly of Palestine , is negligible amongst most people in Europe and the USA . 

If culture is the root of national identity, a future Palestinian state will require significant cultural development. Whereas essential services and political stability are the responsibility of governments, international aid, and non-governmental organizations, there is also a growing need for an artistic response, not just from Palestinians but also from the international community. Raising Western awareness of the existing Palestinian musical culture will help to strengthen and protect the arts in the region, and contribute to the development of a new generation of Middle Eastern musicians, who are the only hope for a strong musical future in Palestine . 

The Vision

The vision of our project is to create a two week chamber music festival ; one week in the UK , and one week in Palestine in Spring 2011. The festival will create unique cross-cultural connections that will inform and educate (as well as entertain) audiences in both countries about the other nation's respective musical traditions. 

The Ensemble

‘The Collective' is a Classical music ensemble headed by Drew Balch and Simon Hewitt Jones (see appendix for biographies). It is based on a genuinely collaborative structure that integrates regular and guest performers into a rolling series of performance and recording projects. The group's use of guest artists from other genres (such as actors and visual artists), business management techniques, unorthodox rehearsal processes, digital technologies, and cross-cultural diplomacy/education projects, creates enormous freedom in the creative process and allows for a highly reactive working environment that reaches beyond the scope of a traditional Classical group.

Their first season has seen them take on many success projects including Sir John Tavener's Premiere “Towards Silence” with the Medici String Quartet recorded by the BBC, becoming award winners of the Deustche Bank Arts Award and playing works by Imogen Holst reviewed by the Guardian ***** at the Cheltenham Festival. www.theclassicalcollective.com  

The Project

 The concept for the program is simple: the first half is based on Middle Eastern music and culture; the second on Western traditional culture . They are then connected by a new composition inspired by both works.

  •  Set of Palestinian songs; both traditional and by Ramzi Aburedwan; performed by an Arabic Quartet
•  New composition by a composer who will travel to Palestine which will inspire a work combining both Quartet and Sextet
•  Tchaikovsky : Souvenir de Florence for String Sextet