The Palestine International Festival for Dance and Music 2019 for the first time in Nazareth: 

TarabBand and the Edward Said Orchestra

On Tuesday June 27th, TarabBand and the Edward Said Orchestra gave an astounding performance in Nazareth, sponsored by the Arab Culture Association in partnership with the Popular Art Center as part of the Palestine International Festival for Dance and Music 2019. The Festival usually takes place all over the West Bank, yet in 2019 this event included a performance in the 1948 Territories for the first time.

The Palestine International Festival concluded with an amazing performance by TarabBand, a musical ensemble founded by Iraqi-Egyptian Artist Nadine Khalidi in Sweden, the country where she sought refuge from the violence in her homeland, and her impressive Swedish musical band. TarabBand cooperated with the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music for this distinguished event, which was performed at the Saint Joseph Auditorium in Nazareth.

As the sponsor of the event, the Arab Culture Association’s (ACA) Director, Rula Khoury stated that this event is part of a series of cultural and artistic projects ACA organizes regularly, in addition to its annual programs and projects, such as student scholarships and other activities. 

TarabBand

TarabBand is an Arab Swedish musical ensemble and winner of Sweden’s “Best Music Ensemble” Award in 2017. Founded in 2008 by Iraqi-Egyptian Artist Nadine Khalidi in Malmo, Sweden, the band is composed of 6 musicians. It is a cross-cultural musical experience with strong echoes of Tarab, the feeling of emotional and musical union.

Based in Malmo, TarabBand creates its own original musical pieces; Khalidi tackles many topics in her song writing such as political and social issues, questions about identity, survival and love. She is passionate about peace, understanding differences, and inter-cultural tolerance. Including personal touches in her song writing allows Arab audiences the chance to connect with Khalidi’s words in a way that is relevant to contemporary Middle Eastern challenges. Before performing each song, the artist introduced the background story or social issue which inspired the lyrics to the song. 

Edward Said National Conservatory of Music

Edward Said Orchestra, is composed of current and former students of the conservatory, in addition to teachers, friends and its guests. The orchestra has grown to include 75 members, whom receive the highest level of professional musical training for young Palestinian musicians. The orchestra program includes traditional and classical Arabic music, in addition to international classical music written by the greatest composers.

The Palestine International Festival for Dance and Music

The Palestine International Festival is considered to be a creative artistic and cultural method to connect with the world, which has contributed to breaking the siege the Israeli occupation has enforced on the Palestinian nation for decades, becoming an artistic and cultural asset for Palestinian audiences. The Popular Art Center founded  the festival 1993 so that it would be the first international festival in Palestine. The festival has succeeded throughout the years to encourage and inspire the creative production of Palestinian Artists and creatives, especially local artistic bands.