Afghan Youth Orchestra UK Tour 2024

[kernelbogey]

Afghan Youth Orchestra UK Tour 2024 - 'Breaking the Silence'

Afghan Traditional, Folk, Indian and Western Classical Music

After last night's opening concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall London:

9 March The Tung Auditorium Liverpool
11 March Stoller Hall Manchester
12 March Town Hall Birmingham
All at 7.30 pm

After the Home Office endangered the tour by refusing members of the Orchestra visas, the ensuing publicity brought about a public outcry, which resulted in the Home Office reversing its decision on the visas, so the tour is going ahead.

For more information and tickets go to www.sama.co.uk

I had not known until last night that, in addition to the oppression of women in Afghanistan by the ruling Taliban regime, including their exclusion from secondary and tertiary eduction, all music is banned in Afghanistan.

I shall write more about last night's opening concert later today.

If you wish to support this maiden tour of the Orchestra financially go to

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/breaking-the-silence-2

[kernelbogey]

I went to this event more to show solidarity with the purposes of the AYO rather than to hear the music itself. I was familiar with the persecution - there is no other appropriate word IMV - of Afghani women and girls by the Taliban, who prevent women from receiving either secondary or tertiary (university) education. These young exiled musicians (14-18), both boys and girls, are studying music in Portugal. The orchestra has played in other countries, but this was their first tour of the UK.

I am not familiar with the music of this region, nor neighbouring countries, but we were told that the pieces that were being played would mostly be familiar not only in Afghanistan, but also across the Indian subcontinent.

Astonishingly - and a fact new to me - the Taliban have banned all music in the country.

Some of the music was played in small ensembles by musicians playing tabla and sitar; also other instruments I could not have named. A note distributed to audience members - there was no programme per se - described instruments in use as including rubab, dutar, tambour, sitar, tabla and quashquarca (the last from NE Afghanistan). The orchestra also incorporated the usual western orchestral instruments.

The majority of the music played by the orchestra that I heard - I had to leave before the end - was high-energy, Asian-inflected modern orchestral music: I am not sufficiently informed about the music of this region to describe it more precisely. It was certainly played with enthusiasm and at volume.

[french frank]

I was waiting for an online review of this. There's one now by Ivan Hewett in the (£)Telegraph, but to read it you have to start a free trial. So thank you for your review, kb. The 'violence' (for want of another word) against women and girls is a continuum. The wretched Taliban's violence is at the extreme end.

[Dave2002]

I was waiting for an online review of this. There's one now by Ivan Hewett in the (£)Telegraph, but to read it you have to start a free trial. So thank you for your review, kb. The 'violence' (for want of another word) against women and girls is a continuum. The wretched Taliban's violence is at the extreme end.

Years ago I worked with and taught several people from Afghanistan in the UK. They were clever, and very easy to get on with. Lovely people. I suspect they did not want to go back to their country, and most probably did not.

[kernelbogey]

I was waiting for an online review of this. There's one now by Ivan Hewett in the (£)Telegraph, but to read it you have to start a free trial. So thank you for your review, kb. The 'violence' (for want of another word) against women and girls is a continuum. The wretched Taliban's violence is at the extreme end.

Thanks FF, and Dave, for your responses.

Making the effort of going to the concert felt to me like a bit of a political act. With everything else that's going on in the world, and impossible not to be aware of - even being assaulted by - to pay for a seat and travel felt like a tiny gesture of support for the project. And also to write up a bit about it here - unqualified as I am to comment on the music, or their performance of it.

I hope that some of the 67 views recorded for this thread may be non-forumistas looking for information about the tour, having read something of it, and if that gets one more person to get to one of the three remaining concerts, I'll have done my bit.

[Dave2002]

I hope that some of the 67 views recorded for this thread may be non-forumistas looking for information about the tour, having read something of it, and if that gets one more person to get to one of the three remaining concerts, I'll have done my bit.

Sadly I'm not near London now - but there are many people who could check out the concerts at the South Bank - assuming that's where the concerts are to be held.

Actually no - the remaining concerts are in Liverpool [tonight], Manchester and Birmingham - still too far for me to go - but others might want to try.
I didn't know about the Tung Auditorium - it might take a bit of finding. Going away from the Philharmonic it's more towards Smithdown Lane on or near Grove Street.

[Pulcinella]

Shareable Sunday Times article here:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e5a2bae3-3c0d-41cd-95fb-3d83fc208e7c?shareToken=9380514eaf29baf94bd902c8c0fb1451

[kernelbogey]

Thanks, Pulcers, for posting this.

It's written by Christina Lamb who was instrumental in publicising the Home Office's tone-deaf [sic] decision not to award visas initially. Her tweet quickly gathered 2.1 million views.