Strains of a Symphony Echo in Postwar Iraq
BAGHDAD — Past the razor wire and barricades, upstairs from a maze of makeshift government offices and down the hall from the briefing room where American generals spar with reporters, a tiny corner of the U.S.-led occupation headquarters is transformed three times a week into an island of civility.
This is where about 60 Iraqis gather every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, bringing violins in tattered cases and oboes in need of spare parts, for rehearsals of Iraq's National Symphony Orchestra.
In one small room, a trio of cellists plays warm-up scales. Next door, clarinetists and oboists congregate around a conference table to practice "On the Palm Trees," a much-loved piece of Iraqi folk music. On the stage of the massive conference hall, violinists sit in a small circle on red plastic chairs, rehearsing a composition by the orchestra's conductor.
It's a cacophony of competing melodies, but a soothing respite nonetheless.
"They're so good, it makes me want to cry," whispered U.S. Army Spc. Rebecca Burt, 24, who wandered in one recent afternoon.
Resting her rifle on the carpet, the Antioch, Calif., native closed her eyes and said: "They really get the emotion into music. Whatever experience they've been through, it translates."
For symphony members, it's a place to get away from the heat and dust, from worries about crime and unemployment, from the daily political turmoil. "No one bothers us here," said Lauy Habeeb, 24, a violinist.
But as much as the orchestra is a symbol of Iraq's recovery and resiliency, it's also a reminder that normality has not returned.
The orchestra recently had to move its rehearsals from Ribat Hall in the city center to the U.S.-protected Baghdad Convention Center, in part because electrical outages were forcing musicians to practice on a dark, stuffy stage.
Despite a much-heralded June concert here, no additional performances have been scheduled in the capital because the director fears that even loyal fans would be afraid to venture out for a nighttime concert.
And the orchestra is having second thoughts about plans to perform in December at the Kennedy Center in Washington amid criticism in the local press that the musicians are kowtowing to an occupying force.
The orchestra director shakes his head and shrugs.
"I don't understand. We're not going to play for the American Army," said Husham Sharaf, 37, noting that his home was shelled by a U.S. tank in the war. "If we go, we'll play to the American audience."
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- Iraqi-U.S. link raises hopes for cultural reawakening Nov 28, 2003
