Sounds of Palestine HD

Sounds of Palestine is a community music project inspired and based on the concept of El Sistema in Venezuela. This concept uses music education as a medium to achieve long term social change for the children and families involved and has proven to be successful in more than 60 countries all over the world. Sounds of Palestine started in 2012 in the kindergartens of two refugee camps in Bethlehem. Meanwhile nearly 180 children (age 4-5) receive weekly music workshops. These workshops take place in four kindergartens in al-Azzeh and Dheisheh refugee camp, and in the isolated villages Dar Salah and al-Khas. When the children graduate from kindergarten and become first graders in primary school, they are invited to join our after-school music program, establishing a natural growth of the program. In 2016, there are around 100 children following the program two to three times a week. Here, they participate in orchestra, dabke (Palestinian folklore dance), choir, music theory and instrument group lessons such as Arabic percussion, violin, cello, double bass and clarinet. The program plans to continue to expand every year, accepting new children in the kindergartens and continuing with the children graduating to the higher grades in school. www.soundsofpalestine.org