I met a traveler from an ancient land who said “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command tell that its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive.”
The classic poem, Ozymandias tells of one civilization’s symbols in decay but the arts are a powerful force, and from the wreckage of war and looting, Iraq’s musicians, painters, sculptors, and actors are busy once again, searching for expression in a state that has not yet had a chance to decide its own future. The sound of music in a land where, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.
Operation Harmony: Inquiries about contributions to the Iraq National Symphony can be emailed to Penny Ojeda, at the Endowment of the Arts. See below for email link.
Guests:
Hisham Sharaf, Director of the Iraqi National Symphony and Director of the School of Music and Ballet
Majid Al Gazali, principal second violin of the Iraqi Symphony Orchestra.