Music establishes intimate dialogue: German envoy

Muscat: Music has no language barrier and can connect people from diverse backgrounds, the German ambassador said on the sidelines of the announcement of the third concert in the second season of the Muscat Chamber Music series, organised by the Arabesque International.
Musicians of Jacaranda Ensemble will perform on January 31 at the Ministry of Education’s Auditorium in Wattayah.
“I am very happy to bring the German group, Jacaranda, to Oman,” German Ambassador Hans-Christian Freiherr von Reibnitz said.
“Music is an extraordinarily pleasant way to establish an intimate dialogue. Musicians do not speak to ears only but also to souls and minds,” the ambassador added.
The event will take place under the patronage of Dr Frank- Walter Steinmeier, German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs.
According to the General Manager of Arabesque International, the five musicians of the Jacaranda Ensemble will perform on 25 instruments at the event.
Five young musicians, principals of the Brandenburg Symphony, have put together an unusual ensemble as a result of a desire to experiment with new sounds.
Instrumentation of this band clearly demonstrates the idea that the instruments used in the concert have their origins often thousands of miles apart, and are woven through a mixture of well composed and improvised music, all resulting in a musical tapestry.
Instruments used in the concert are alpenhorn, didgeridoo, saxophone, and percussion.
Through its music, the Jacaranda Ensemble builds a bridge between the cultures of the world.
“We believe that music develops the intellectual and critical thinking of oneself,” Ahmed Abouzahra, General Manager of Arabesque International, said.
“That is why we launched this project to give a chance to the Omani musicians, music students and younger generation to meet international artists and get introduced to different musical genres from different cultures,” the General Manager added.
Arabesque International is also organising workshops in schools and universities.
“Our project’s vision is to bring professional artists to stay in Muscat for nearly two weeks before the concert to conduct musical workshops with schools and university students,” the General Manager of Arabesque said.
These workshops will take place on Sunday, January 27th, in the British School at 10AM, and in the PDO School at 2PM. On Monday 28, the workshop will be held in the GUtech at 1PM. Other workshops will follow in different public and private schools, universities and colleges.