Maybe Texas should give Iraq it's fat lady to sing.
Posted on 12/04/2003 5:08:33 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
U.S. Air Force Col. Scott Norwood joined the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra in Baghdad, playing the trumpet to relax after stressful workdays as senior military assistant to L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq.
Norwood was impressed with the camaraderie of the 63-piece orchestra, an ensemble that once spent eight years "underground" after an Iraqi cultural minister banned them in the 1960s because he despised classical music.
"They are like a big family, highly spirited and love their music," Norwood wrote in an e-mail interview from Baghdad.
But he was astonished at the condition of the music library.
"Most of the music was in shambles," he said.
"The most recent print date was 1970, so the collection was largely held together by Scotch tape. Not wanting to be limited in their selection, the group had hand-transcribed large amounts of music.
"They were in obvious need of assistance, and I knew there must be donors out there who would help."
The plea for help has been answered by music librarians from around the world. Leading the effort were Karen Schnackenberg of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Doug Adams of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
The two librarians are not ready to say how many sets of orchestral parts they gathered because they plan to surprise the Iraqi orchestra when it performs Tuesday at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
But the number is in the hundreds.
"At first I thought this was just simply about helping another orchestra that needed music," Schnackenberg said.
"But when I realized that it was a group that a few years ago rehearsed in hiding, I began to think that this was about freedom. People say that classical music is dying, but then you realize what the members of this group have done to keep it alive. This really matters. Music is a way to heal humanity."
The INSO was formed in 1959. Two years later, the Iraqi government abolished it.
"The director took them underground," Schnackenberg said. "They rehearsed in his home and helped each other with food, money and health care."
In 1970, when Tariq Aziz, who liked classical music, rose in the ranks of the Ba'ath Party, the orchestra re-emerged. But the past 23 years under Saddam Hussein have been difficult.
Members include college students and elders who were among the orchestra's founders. Most play traditional symphonic instruments, but a few play folk instruments.
The group plays Western symphonic and native Iraqi music.
Through Norwood, members expressed an interest in learning to play Christmas carols. Schnackenberg conducted a worldwide e-mail music drive, communicating with members of the Major Orchestra Librarians' Association.
The group set up collection points in Washington, D.C., London and Sydney, Australia, where the world's symphonies shipped donated sets of music, recordings and supplies.
Adams, of the Fort Worth symphony, cataloged the donations, which included selections on the Iraqi orchestra's wish list, such as Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and a variety of secular and religious Christmas music.
The Fort Worth and Dallas symphonies both donated retired sets of music that have been replaced with newer editions, including works by Beethoven, Bach and Schubert.
"This donation will give the Iraqi orchestra the basics," Schnackenberg said. "They will have the major works of music that most orchestras around the world have, but it's still a rather small library."
Schnackenberg said she was struck by the fact that the library being assembled for Iraq is not to replace a collection destroyed by war. It is to build a music archive that should have existed all along. She said she hopes that the Baghdad orchestra will lend some of its music to smaller groups throughout Iraq.
Norwood said that a few of the first donations have reached the Iraqis, who are very excited.
"Our first request to publishers was modest, about a half dozen pieces, so I was hopeful," Norwood said. "My reaction is, 'Wow!' Iraq now will have a national orchestral library they can enjoy for 50 years."
Adams credited his Dallas colleague with the success of the music drive.
Schnackenberg "is really the brains behind this project," he said. "She's been carrying a huge burden, spending many, many hours e-mailing librarians all around the world. I was in a supporting role."
Adams said it is not the first time that music librarians cooperated to help a needy organization. A few years ago, they gathered music donations for the Houston Symphony Orchestra after a flood destroyed its basement library.
"We Texans stick together," he said.
ONLINE: dallassymphony.com,fwsymphony.org,kennedy-center.org
Maybe Texas should give Iraq it's fat lady to sing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.