Fares Kallas highlights Syrian- British shared musical concerts performed in Syria
Syria-UK, Culture, 5/11/2002

The Syrian Ministry of Culture, the British council in Damascus presented musical concerts for theworld wide famous guitarist, Justin Adams, in Damascus and Aleppo. Adams performed for the first time with Syrian musicians. He played during the concerts with Juan Karajouli, the Syrian Oud performer, Muhammad Othman, the Buzok player, the percussionists: Rateb Shammout and Jamala al-Saqqa and the guitarist Tareq Salhiyeh.

Adam's first album " the desert Road," which was described by critics as a unique piece of art, made him famous.

Adams has done some tours in Europe, Japan and America and has become known for his Arabic tunes.

The concerts took place on the 7th and 8th of March at the Sama Theatre in the International Damascus Fair, and on the 9th at the American Charity Association Theatre in Aleppo.

In a statement to Arabic News (ArabicNews.com) arts manager at the British council in Damascus Fares Kallas said the trip of Justin Adams and the " desert Rogues " to Syria was a great success. They played three well organized and well-attended concerts, collaborated with some excellent musicians and had a fascinating and enjoyable time seeing a bit of Syria. He added but perhaps most importantly, at a time when Arab- Western relations are at a low point, by " mixing our music, we were able to emphasize, what we have in common and to have some joyful moments in troubled times." Mr. Kallas indicated the impressive thoughts the British musicians carried with them on their performance in Damascus, He added that Justin hoped for further co-operation with the Syrian partners when he said:" We were impressed by the fact that concerts were recorded, filmed and photographed exhaustively. This will hopefully provide us with a resource with which we could try to set up some European concerts for next year, when we could try to repeat and develop the collaboration with Juan and the other Syrian musicians. I think that between us all there would be a lot of energy and goodwill that could make this goal achievable." He said that the British Council in Damascus established a new relationship with Sama art Group, which is the first and only private art promoter in Syria. He added that Sama held its activities in the Russian Pavilion at the Damascus international Fair playground, which was called later Sama Theatre.

Describing the great efforts made to provide this event a success, Mr. Kallas said Dr. Patrick Brazier, the director of the British council in Damascus opened the concerts with a few words about connecting futures. He added that for 10 minutes Juan and his band performed alone, then for the 30 minutes Justin and the desert Rogues sang alone and for the final half an hour the two groups performed together. Towards the end, the audience was on its feet, dancing on stage around the bands, singing and clapping. It seemed for many people that the bands had been working together for years. The was a fantastic rapport between the musicians, he commented.

Mr. Kallas continued that from audience feedback, the concerts were most successful of any events " we had ever staged in Syria. It was a true British Ð Syrian project." He said that the eastern music blended perfectly with Anglo music and properly justified the concert's title " A true Wedding Ceremony." At the end of the tour of the British band in Syria, most members of the two groups were overcome with emotion. Both wanted more concerts in joint ventures. They had all had a fantastic time in Syria- the sights and sounds of the country left them with lasting impressions, and together with the overwhelming hospitality and friendliness of the Syrian people, they had all experienced a new experience they will never forget..

He hoped to see continued collaboration between Justin Adams and the Desert Rogues and Juan Karajouli and his Syrian musicians and to have " the opportunity for the Syrian musicians to perform in Britain with support and help from the music department in London especially Leah Zakss.

Mr. Kallas recommended that music events should involve Syrian musicians, noting that these concerts " allowed us to raise our profile through large numbers who attended the concerts and through considerable media publicity."

In one of his statements to the local Syrian press during his visit to Syria Justin Adams said: " I visited Syria for the first time when I was seven. My family lived in Jordan at that time, and we used to visit the archaeological sites in Syria. This is my first visit as a grown- up and my friends and I were amazed at the beautiful sites we have visited in Syria, especially old Damascus and Palmyra. This was more amazing for my friends who are visiting Syria for the first time." On his impression about this shared musical performance in Syria Adams said:" The most beautiful thing about this experience is that it will give me the chance to know the immediate reaction of the audience to the musical blend that we are going to present. There is no doubt, an element of risks in such an attempt, because there should be in the first place an opening up to other cultures, but I hope that this experience will be repeated in the future. "

Previous Stories:
  Patrick Brazier: British council to extend mutually beneficial dialogue with Syria   (4/29/2002)
  Syrian- British higher education, IT cooperation boosted   (2/11/2002)
  'StiffÉundertaking undertaking' in Damascus   (10/26/2001)

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