A group of New England Conservatory students have put together a concert and panel discussion focusing on the relationship between music and current political issues, or more specifically, human rights violations in wartime.
The concert will feature three new compositions, one of which incorporates clips from a broadcast on Guantanamo Bay by This American Life. The panel discussion following will be headed up by Harvard PhD’s, faculty of NEC, Tufts, and National Defense University, and a reporter from the Boston Globe.
The event on Thursday, March 12th is free, open to the public, and to be followed by a reception.
For more details, check us out on facebook under “Musical Diplomacy” or here: http://today.newenglandconserv…
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Music activates the brain in different ways than diplomatic-speak and such a concert offers interesting possibilities for opening the lines of communication. Nice that they are making it free of charge, too.
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p>I have in the past thought about Jews and Palestinians listening to each others’ iconic nationalistic songs: songs of struggle against oppression, songs of homeland yearnings and songs of peace, with translations provided of the Arabic, Hebrew or Yiddish lyrics. Israeli and Arab songs may well contain militaristic aspects or lyrics that denigrate the other side. So be it. I would have participants hear recordings of the songs with translations handed out and them facilitate dialogue on what was heard and how people felt about it. The musical mode may offer a way of breaking through to essential emotions and needs and might be an opening to rapprochement and change.
http://www.andante.com/article…