Palmusic UK Ensemble

Summer 2019 Scotland Tour

DNTA has sponsored this event. Please join us on Sunday 7^thJuly in St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee.

All welcome, free entry; donations welcome. All donations will go to Palmusic to support the education of young Palestinian musicians.

Palmusic scholars:

Lourdina Baboun, violin
Omar Saad, viola
Tibah Saad, cello
special guest pianist, Iyad Sughayer

Playing Mozart and Mahler piano quartets, and Arabic folk music arranged by the ensemble.

Sunday 7^th July 7:30pm
St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral
1 High Street
DUNDEE DD1 1TD

Press Release

Exceptional Ensemble of Young Palestinian Musicians on tour in Scotland

An ensemble of exceptionally talented young musicians from Palestine will come together to play three concert dates in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee over the first weekend of July 2019. (Dates and details below).

Guest artist and rising star Iyad Sughayer, pianist, will join Omar Saad on viola, Tibah Saad on cello, and Lourdina Baboun on violin for an uplifting programme of Mozart and Mahler piano quartets, and Arabic folk music arranged by the ensemble.

Speaking of the programme, Omar says, “These are celebrated works that we have all wanted to perform for a long time. The folk music is a reflection of our roots that we believe compliment the western classical repertoire… With every group you have a different storytelling of the same piece and that is what makes these works great.”

Concerts will raise money for Palmusic UK, the charity that is supporting Omar, Tibah and Lourdina with scholarships to study at top British conservatoires. Omar has just completed his master’s degree in music performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, (RCS), in Glasgow. His sister, Tibah Saad, is also studying at the RCS with two more years to complete her bachelor of music degree. Lourdina is also a bachelor student of music performance at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Iyad Sughayer is a Jordanian-Palestinian pianist who is regarded as one of the Middle East’s most promising young artists. He completed his Master’s degree at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, in 2018, and returned there in September on the International Artist Diploma course to study with Murray McLachlan, Martino Tirimo and Graham Scott.

Iyad has received numerous awards including the prestigious Gold Medal Award at Trinity Laban. Winter 2020 will see the release of his debut disc under the BIS Label, featuring the solo works of Aram Khachaturian. Speaking of his attraction to this music, Iyad says, “It seemed so close to my own roots – to my people’s folk music. There is an oriental, improvisatory element that I love in Khachaturian and the rhythms and harmonies are especially attractive.”

Omar, Tibah and Lourdina have all performed with the Palestine Youth Orchestra (PYO) at prestigious venues internationally, including, the Royal Festival Hall (London), Grand Theatre de Provence (Aix-en-Provence), and the Royal Opera House in Muscat. Lourdina was band leader in 2015. They will be joining the PYO again for a European tour this summer.

Omar and Tibah come from Maghar in Galilee, and with their two siblings form The Galilee Quartet. Together they performed internationally. Omar and his brother Mostafa played alongside Nigel Kennedy at the Royal Albert Hall BBC Proms Concert 2013.

Palmusic UK works closely with the Friends of Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Palestine to nurture the musical talent of young Palestinians. Key charitable initiatives include scholarships to study at British conservatoires, and other projects that support musical education and professional development in and outside of Palestine.

The inspiration for Palmusic UK to be established came from the success of The Palestinian Strings tour in 2013, which culminated in the critically acclaimed BBC Proms concert at The Royal Albert Hall. Palmusic UK went on to produce the first UK Tour of the Palestine Youth Orchestra (PYO) in the summer of 2016 to sell-out audiences across the UK.

This concert tour in Scotland is produced by Palmusic UK in partnership with the Scottish Friends of Palestine and Dundee-Nablus Twinning Association. It has also been generously supported by The City of Glasgow, which is officially twinned with Bethlehem since 2007.

Palmusic UK is the trading name of the Friends of the Edward Said Conservatory of Music UK: Charity number 1152645. See www.palmusic.org.uk

Concert details

Concert entry is free, with donations welcomed.

Friday 5^th July 1pm Stevenson Hall, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G2 3DB
Saturday 6^th July 3pm St Andrew's and St George's West Church, 13 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PA
Sunday 7^th July 7.30pm St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, 1 High Street, Dundee DD1 1TD