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Music For A Change <MusicF9>

"campaign, INYO, battlefront, Baghdad, Iraqi Orchestra, Youth, Music"

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	Some updates	218 dni temu
	Hello everyone, It's been so hectic for me since I got back from London, I've been extremely busy with everything that's going on around me, but also stressed with my team mates about the Summer Academy in August. So far we only have the British Council's seed support of GBP 30k and when the summer academy costs 120k it's obviously not enough. We all thought that money will be an issue, but with such a critical time it's very difficult not to feel stressed as without enough funding we won't be able to have our Summer Academy which means no debut of the orchestra that we have been working on since last August. Making Music have set up a just giving page for online donations but we've only received about over GBP 200 out of 120k, even though we have sent out messages on facebook through two different groups http://www.justgiving.com/nyoi . I'd feel utterly destroyed if it doesn't happen, I've put so much effort, passion and sleepless night over this, which is something I've always dreamed about. I feel like financial issues have been standing in my way for a very long time in almost most of the things I undertake in my life, and it's always frustrating to me because I know that's the one thing that I cannot control or do something about; but this time I know that I'll do whatever it takes to solve this problem, whatever it takes. '' See that's why I don't write blogs much often, I get emotional! xoxoxoxoxo, Z.
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	Guest blog from Battlefront producer, Jo Woolf	218 dni temu
	I’ve just been cut off from a phone conversation with Zuhal. I’d been trying to get in touch with her for days to see how she’s doing, but her web and phone connections have both been dodgy – so it’s been incredibly difficult to get through. Today, however, I did manage to speak to her for about five minutes and there was quite good reception, so I could understand most of what she was saying too. Before we got cut off, Zuhal told me that she is in the midst of crazy exam studying at the moment. After her trip to the UK a few weeks ago, Zuhal now has her heart set on studying at university here – but she needs to get good grades to get in, and find a way of getting some funding too. She’s not the only Battlefronter with exams looming – most of them have. Poor things – it’s hard enough running a campaign without doing exams too… But that’s the life of a Battlefronter… Anyway, on top of the studying Zuhal is desperately trying to work out whether her summer academy can take place this summer. The summer school is expensive to run and Zuhal doesn’t have enough funding at the moment to allow it to happen. The British Council are very generously helping both financially and by providing admin resources, but Zuhal still needs a lot more help to allow it to happen. She using all the contacts she has both in and out of Iraq – and should know more in a couple of weeks’ time about whether the summer school will run or not. It’s an agonizing time for everyone involved in the orchestra. Fingers crossed it will all work out in time… Battlefront think this is a wonderful campaign and we really want the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq to flourish! If you want to find out more about Zuhal’s campaign, watch programme 5 of the Battlefront series at 11.30am on Channel 4 on Friday 15th May. Bye for now, Jo x
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	GUEST BLOG FROM JO WOOLF, BATTLEFRONT PRODUCER	241 dni temu
	It was so fantastic meeting Zuhal in the flesh, after 8 months of speaking to her via a dodgy Skype connection! And Zuhal was even more special and talented in person, than we ever could have imagined! Her recital and Q and A at the Wigmore Hall got a standing ovation – and it wasn’t just because of the beautiful music, but because Zuhal spoke so eloquently and passionately about why she believes a National Youth Orchestra of Iraq should exist. I really don’t think there are many 17 year olds who could speak with so much conviction about a cause – and Zuhal did it in a language that isn’t even her own! She even managed to inject some humour into the Q and A, something which endeared her even further to the audience. Battlefront is very grateful to the British Council and the FairSay for making Zuhal’s trip to the UK possible. Zuhal is now back home and her internet connection is sporadic, so she’ll be in touch in person when she can.
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	A quick blog while I have a connection....	255 dni temu
	Hello Everyone, I have been left without an Internet connection for a VERY LONG TIME. It's been really hard for me to feel so disconnected from the entire world, ironically, I just got it back, a few hours before leaving Baghdad to Amman. This is IT! I'm flying to London on Sunday, I'm very excited and very anxious. It is going to be a very busy period of time for me but hopefully very productive. I'll finally be able to meet all these wonderful people who helped me from August of last year, and -- as my friend screamed enthusiastically when I told her about my trip -- I'm going to meet Paul MacAlindin in the flesh! and talk with him without all the noise and sound delays of Skype. I'd love to see all of you at my recital at *Wigmore Hall*, this is like a dream come true to me, and it's also a proof that nothing is impossible. Not only will I be performing before a wonderful audience of great classical figures of our time, but I get to perform with one, too! -- Andy Staples will perform few songs/arias with me and I'm literally jumping up and down about this. This wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for *Fairsay*, the *British Council*, the wonderful *Battlefront* team and YOUR great support so THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I hope to see you very soon. Much Love, Zuhal.
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	Guest blog from Andy Staples, opera tenor	258 dni temu
	I'm really looking forward to meeting Zuhal and performing with her in Wigmore Hall on 2 April. I am a 29 year old opera, classical concert and lieder singer based in London and Zuhal is a 17 year old pianist who lives in Baghdad. This in itself is remarkable that we are able to share such a prestigious stage in London, but the real power of what's going on here lies 3 thousand miles away in her home. Her campaign to create a National Youth Orchestra of Iraq will have many obvious and countless unknown benefits for all those involved and I am delighted to be able to support her. With an organisation called the Choir of London, I have travelled to the Palestinian Territories in the West Bank and have seen firsthand the overwhelming positive effect music-making can have on the children of conflict areas. Once in Jordan I was a guest of an Iraqi pianist and conductor whose family had fled the country at the outbreak of the War. He told me stories of how rich the musical and cultural life of Iraq used to be and he wondered how it would ever be the same again. Zuhal's project is the start of this process and she deserves our support. Come to the Wigmore Hall, listen to her play and speak, and help her in this amazing task.
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	Guest blog by Paul MacAlindin	269 dni temu
	Soft landing from cyberspace - Zuhal and I will meet for the first time on the 2nd of April in London after months of skyping and e-mailing. We're both deeply in the groove of this campaign and feeling the pressure, but looking at what we've achieved over the past half year, I'm exhilarated that things are clearly moving forward. As I'm sure many other campaigners will testify, we've learned there are basically two types of people in a campaign; there are the people who believe 150% in it and pull out all the stops, and there are the "wait and sees" who throw up any number of barriers and won't risk anything until they see a bandwagon they can actually jump on. This is as old as time. It's also a key learning point in campaigning, because deep down, most folk don't want change, however beneficial. We're lucky to have found people who have the faith and want the change. We hope to find more.
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	Guest blog by Sarah Rogers, at Making Music	270 dni temu
	We're very excited at Making Music that Zuhal will have this opportunity to come to the UK to play and talk about her project. The next job is to spread the word and make sure lots of people come - it should appeal to so many people with an interest in music, youth, international politics and culture, and those who simply want to see what positive things are happening in a place they are used to hearing so much bad news about. We're looking forward to coming along to support Zuhal and think it will be a wonderful event - can't wait to meet you Zuhal!
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	Guest blog by Battlefront producer, Jo Woolf	270 dni temu
	Everyone at Battlefront is very excited because it’s looking like Zuhal will be coming over to the UK at the end of this month, thanks to the generosity of the British Council and Fairsay – two organizations which both love Zuhal’s campaign. Zuhal will be coming over to attend an eCampaigning forum at Oxford university, run by Fairsay, and also to put on her very first concert in the UK – a recital at the Wigmore Hall. The Wigmore Hall event is happening on the 2nd April at lunchtime – and you’re invited too! We really want to show Zuhal how much everyone supports her campaign – so do come along… It will be great! The Battlefront office is a hive of activity at the moment, with all this going on, but we wouldn’t have it any other way…
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	David Miliband in Baghdad	280 dni temu
	Hello Everyone, Last Friday, I met David Miliband on his short visit to Baghdad, and in case you are not familiar with him, he is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the UK. I knew I was meeting him the night before and was quite excited. Although I didn't have so much time with him about the NYOI but he seemed impressed and considered this as a sign of Iraq moving forward. In the mean time, I've been converting the auditioner's videos and trying to upload them on YouTube with mostly no success whatsoever, I wait for 3-5 hours per video and at the end an error sign is displayed. I'm still trying very hard. I am featured this month in Musicians For Harmony podcast session talking about the NYOI and a bit about myself. Do let me know what you all think: http://www.musicians4harmony.org/amb... Thank you for your wonderful support. Much Love, Zuhal.
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	Guest blog from Allegra Klein	297 dni temu
	Today (February 15) was the deadline for receiving applications for the first part of our Iraqi youth orchestra -- the distance learning program (started by Musicians For Harmony and continued through NYOI) by which Iraqi music students are paired with professional musicians in Europe and America who give them one-to-one online tutoring on their musical instruments. So we have gotten 40 APPLICATIONS from all over Iraq, including places like Erbil, Baghdad, Suleymaniya and Mosul! It's really exciting to see all the interest from these young people. And on the other side, Paul and I are making contact with many generous and supportive professional musicians who want to help these young people. But we still need more -- so any music teachers out there who want to help, please leave a message for us! We want to hear from YOU!
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