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I ask Zuhal...

A: Hi Zuhal, so your campaign Music For A Change is all about improving musical education in Iraq and uniting people through music. I know you’re a musician yourself: when did you first start playing an instrument, and what instrument do you play? 

Z: I’ve started playing the piano at the age of 6; but my love for music goes way before that age, I’ve been fond of music for as long as I can remember. Sleeping on the sound of early 90s pop when I was just few months old was a start; being capable of playing the melody of any music I hear on my toy piano was something my mom couldn’t ignore, so she went on and bought me a piano. Later that year, I started receiving private lessons from a piano tutor; I was making such a progress that I was ready to apply for the Music and Ballet School which was renowned at that time as one of the best cultural schools for young talent in the Middle East. I passed the audition with distinction, and was very thrilled to be accepted in such a place where I am surrounded by music all day long.

Sadly, the school was looted and burned after the war, and many of the teachers have left the school for either they’ve fled the country or they just stopped showing up due to the very troubled location of the school, or in fear of being prosecuted by insurgents. That’s when a large number of students were left without teachers, and I was one of those students. As discouraging as this may sound, we, the students, decided that we must help each other; the advanced students would help the beginners and so on. I started teaching basics to a whole class of piano beginners; we have also had support and donations including musical instruments that were provided by the Swiss embassy in Baghdad. Having no teacher didn’t stop me from playing music and certainly not from doing concert – I’ve given performances in Baghdad, Erbil (Northern Iraq), Amman and Madaba (Jordan), France and Switzerland.

Since December 2007, I started taking piano lessons via webcam with the renowned Japanese/ American pianist Rieko Aizawa as part of a mentorship programme held by Musicians For Harmony Organization based in New York City, and to whom now I am a global youth ambassador who also works as a link to the music students in Baghdad to help them join the programme.

 

A: That’s an extraordinary story. How did you get involved in the orchestra? 

Z: I was one of the only 10 best young musicians invited to attend an American music academy held in Erbil (Capital of Northern Iraq) with the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra. I continued attending the rehearsals and performing with the orchestra even after the academy was over. Now that it has been over a year since I joined the orchestra, I’ve finally managed to make my solo debut with them just last week performing W. A. Mozart’s Piano Concerto K 488.

 

A: Well done! So what gave you the idea for your campaign? 

Z: Gathering young musicians from all over the country, with as many differences as one could possibly imagine, including languages, through music, they will learn to communicate, listen, respect and learn from each other. With that, they will be breaking any existing boundaries that have been long believed was hard to break. Such a diverse, harmonized group, performing good music, can not only bring a tremendous hope to Iraqis, but they will be such an inspiration to the whole world, for they not only have the will to survive each day in one of the most dangerous places in the world, but also to play music and learn with a huge determination to be the best at what they do. 

Also, being with the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra have changed my life in so many ways, It has made me realise some of the wonders that music can do – it can connect you to anyone no matter who they are and where they come from. I always feel ecstatic when I am accompanying the orchestra; it has been such a wonderful experience for me that it feels that it’s crucial for every young musician to go through. And now that I have the opportunity to make it happen, I feel very privileged to be able to contribute to not only the cultural and  musical education/experience that this project will provide these young musicians, but also to what will be a joyful time of their lives that they will surely never forget. 

I strongly believe that this project will be affecting all the youth in here, there are a lot of young Iraqis who have brilliant ideas in their own fields of specialty but are afraid of taking initiative to do their projects, or didn’t have enough support. This campaign will pave the road for anyone and everyone who has an idea, big or small, to get out of their comfort zone and start working on it and make it happen. 

 

A: How's the campaign going? What have you been up to so far?

Z: It has been going so well that I am almost intimidated at how things seem to be going so fast. It is a huge project and I am doing everything on my own at the moment. I am working on one of the hardest stages right now, which is starting the members selection process, and since a good percentage of the candidates are from Northern Iraq (where they speak Kurdish, and I do not) I am having a hard time communicating with them, I do know of only one who speaks fair Arabic and English and good Kurdish who offered his help in connecting me with the musicians there. Since it is very hard for me to go to Northern Iraq to audition the applicants, every applicant will send a video recording of selected pieces of their performance. So far, I’ve contacted lots of musicians who were very enthusiastic about being in the orchestra, they were even asking me if I am starting anytime soon, and then I would remind them that they didn’t even have the audition that will qualify them to join the orchestra. I am also setting a plan to promote the campaign worldwide; I am only waiting for the project to move a little forward so I can have a better big picture.  

 

A: What have people been saying about your campaign? Have they been telling you what they think of your idea?

Z: I’ve been telling lots of people about my campaign and I am getting “Wow! That’s fantastic! That’s HUGE!” quite a lot, which is very encouraging and also does not comes of as a shock, for after all, creating a permanent national youth orchestra in Iraq is something that has never been done before.

 

A: That’s fantastic. So what is life like in Baghdad?

Z: Very far away from normal in world’s standards, but I, like everyone else, got so accustomed to it that it doesn’t matter anymore. With the non existence of life’s essentials like electricity, water, or feeling safe on the streets, it is such a miracle that we’re managing to pass through each day in a positive outlook on the world. It is especially hard for youth not being able to exercise normal activities like hanging out, going to the movies or shopping, making school our only get-away. 

 

A: What are your favourite T.V. shows?

Z: I mostly watch sit-up (comedy) series where Seinfeld is my all-time favourite; My Hero is my second-favourite and Malcolm in the Middle being the third.

I also appreciate watching a good movie also under the category of (comedy), my all-time favourite movie is Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain.

 

A: What is your favourite music?

Z: The list is endless! I love to listen to everything; I listen to music 24/7 and love my iPod shuffle almost as much as I love my piano. On top of my list is , of course, classical music where I listen to everything by Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Prokofiev. And any performances by Martha Argerich, London Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. 

I also love listening to Coldplay, Keane, Carla Bruni, Kyo, Sarah Brightman, Rihanna, Zero 7, Tiesto, Ghosts, Lara Fabian, The Killers, Estelle, Fanny J, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson, Delta Goodrem, Kanye West and lots and lots of House music.

 

A: And how will it work running your campaign from Baghdad?

Z: I think at the moment it will work anywhere, thanks to today’s communication technologies, but being in Baghdad will help me set realistic goals for the progress of this project. I intend to make most of the orchestra’s rehearsals in Northern Iraq, where it’s the safest part of Iraq at the moment. It’s also a good environment to practice music there. 

 

A: What I want to know is: how come your English is so good?!

Z: Hahaha! The inevitable question! ? -- My family lived in England for about 10 years where my parents received their PhDs, but that was way before I was born. So I simply picked it up from them, that’s in addition to the fact that I am very fond of reading and writing. Also, two short visits to England were very enough for me to enhance my accent!

 

A: What do your friends and family think about this?

Z: My family has been very supportive of me in everything I do, and I had their blessings to go on with this project, But it’s to my best friends that I provide intense details and ask their opinion most of the time, having their support means a lot to me.

A: Thanks Zuhal. I’m looking forward to following your campaign.

Good luck.