Wednesday 25 June 2014

National Youth Orchestra of Iraq USA tour cancelled


 
 
Back in May this year I featured the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq,  http://nyoiinfo.wix.com/nyoiraq http://twitter.com/nyoiraq  www.youtube.com/user/nyoiinfo  who were due to undertake a visit to the USA in August 2014 to join the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra www.eyso.org for three weeks of study in Illinois, followed by performances in Elgin, Chicago, and Washington, DC. Collaboration with players and tutors of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, performing to American audiences and telling stories through music, is NYOI's effort to reach out to young Americans and share cultures.

NYOI regretfully announce that they have had to cancel their tour due to the instability in Iraq. It has made it impossible for orchestra members to complete the visa process that would allow them to travel, though thankfully all NYOI musicians are currently safe.

They are looking forward to continuing their partnership with Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra in the future, and encourage everyone to stay up to date with the orchestra by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.

Dubbed ‘the world's bravest orchestra’, the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq was founded in 2009 by 17-year-old Zuhal Sultan https://twitter.com/ZuhalSultan , a pianist in Baghdad. Now consisting of 44 young musicians from across the country they have overcome seemingly insurmountable barriers to make music together.

The Classical Reviewer sends all best wishes to the members of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq and hopes that the situation will soon improve and that they will be able to undertake their USA tour at some time in the near future.

For more information contact:

Rachel Maley, Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra rmaley@eyso.org or Majid Al Azzawi, National Youth Orchestra of Iraq majid.azzawi@hotmail.com

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