On a lighter note

Song is like ‘a positive virus, that affects people and spreads,’ says Mira Awad, who will perform at For Life and Peace concerts.

By BARRY DAVIS
The notion of seeking to further peace efforts through the arts is not a new one, but surely even if regional harmony does not break out later this month, at the very least the forthcoming 10th annual For Life and Peace concerts by the Italian Youth Orchestra in Jerusalem and Bethlehem will provide quality entertainment.
The orchestra, under the aegis of conductor Nicola Paszkowski, will join forces with pop singer Mira Awad in a varied program of works that covers a wide range of styles and genres.
The classical section of the program will include works such as the Overture from Rossini’s L’Italian in Algeri, Saint-Saens’s “Odelette, for flute and orchestra” and a movement from Mozart’s “Concerto for Flute and Harp.” Jazz clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi will weigh in with a couple of numbers, and there are a couple of nuevo tango works by Piazolla. Add to that three songs fronted by Palestinian- Israeli vocalist Awad and you get quite a mix.
Paszkowski is happy with the artistic breadth of the program. “It is important for me to embrace with this concert the majority of musical interests in the audience. The jazz aspect is very important inside the musical expression, and it is a way to make us known and to widen the musical repertoire.”
The concert will, in fact, be performed three times, starting in Greccio near Rome on December 19, followed by concerts at Saint Catherine Church in Bethlehem and at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on December 21 and 22, respectively.
All the concerts will be broadcast on the RAI Italian television channel on Christmas and the Jerusalem concert will be attended by Mayor Nir Barkat and a sizable contingent from Italy, including Minister of Youth Giorgia Meloni, heads of various Italian provinces and regions, cultural leaders, clergymen and celebrities.
Over the years 35-year-old Awad has gained a reputation for pushing the peace envelope and has attracted as much admiration as criticism from Israeli and Palestinian quarters alike. Last year she represented Israel, along with Achinoam “Noa” Nini, in the Eurovision Song Contest. For Awad there is no contradiction.
“I call myself a Palestinian Israeli or an Israeli Palestinian, whichever way you want,” she said in an interview from Spain where she is currently recording a new album due out on the Sony label in March.
“I don’t hide my origins. Abroad I would prefer just to be known as a singer. My father was expelled in ’48, but I grew up with respect for everyone.”
One of the songs Awad will perform is “Imagine” by John Lennon.
Given her stance on organized religion, it is a seemingly natural choice.
“I grew up in a Christian home, but we respected all religions and we marked Ramadan, Hanukka and Christmas,” says the singer. “I do not associate with any religion today, but I respect them all.
“In ‘Imagine’ Lennon sings ‘Imagine there’s no religion.’ People fight so much in the name of religion, about unimportant things.
One person’s life is worth so much more than gaining control of an area of land in the name of some religion.”
Awad is quick, however, to scotch any idea that she is anti-religious.
“It’s not the religion but what is being done with it that is the problem. Religion has so much good to offer, to give structure to society. The problem is that people have taken it to bad places and have divided us instead of bringing us together.”
Awad has been a peace torchbearer for some time now and says she is under no illusions that the forthcoming concerts will change the regional map overnight. Then again, music does have a way of breaking down suspicions and barriers.
“Music cannot change things on its own. One song or 1,000 songs cannot bring peace to the Middle East. People have to come together to talk. But a song can [have an] impact on public opinion and open a window to a new idea. All new ideas are met by opposition to begin with, but gradually the idea comes up a second time and a third time and then becomes part of life. Song can make the change like a virus, a positive virus, that affects people and spreads.”
Awad hopes to convey that idea in the second number she will perform at the concerts, “A Word,” which she recorded with Nini.
“I wrote it a long time ago. It talks about living together and, unfortunately, the lyrics become more and more relevant with time. It talks about dialogue and respecting each other, and we need that now more than ever. We are all so entrenched in our positions, which is sad. I would be happy for the song to become irrelevant.”
Paszkowski endorses the musical communication take in the context of the For Life and Peace concert series.
“The music we propose will be of great impact and will cover different musical flavors,” he says. “I believe that music can speak directly to the feeling of peace inside every person.”
The conductor believes that the age of the orchestra members will also contribute to the accumulative impact of the event. “Bringing an orchestra with young musicians is another aspect of the peace message of this concert. In the new generation there is hope for a future of peace, and it is important to show how very young musicians can become involved in this too,” says Paszkowski.
Awad says she is looking forward to performing in all three concerts, but especially in Bethlehem. “I have visited there before but I have never sung there. I always have mixed emotions when I go there. It is a beautiful place, but there is the ugly security barrier in the middle. It hurts to see it.”
She says she finds, however, that humor can help to ease the pain. “You come out of a restaurant in Bethlehem and you see an enormous wall in front of you. People have become cynical and use a lot of dark humor about it. That’s better than mourning over it.
In one of my fantasies I want to sing as the wall comes down. I dream about a big event, like when [former Pink Floyd frontman] Roger Waters was here, with bulldozers demolishing the wall while I sing. That would be a wonderful experience.”