Morgenland Festival Osnabrück

History

The Festival first took place in 2005. Michael Dreyer, initiator and founder of the Festival, is still its Artistic Director. It is committed to challenging traditional perceptions of the “Orient”. It offers the participating artists time and space in which they can realize their projects. The musical programme is therefore not imported as a finished product, but is mostly developed on site. Apart from renowned artists such as Alim Qasimov (Azerbaijan), Kayhan Kalhor (Iran), Jivan Gasparyan (Armenia), the NDR Bigband or Salman Gambarov (Azerbaijan), many artists who were hitherto unknown in the West from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, the Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Xinjiang and Turkey have performed at the Festival since 2005. Highlights of the Festival include guest performances by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra - with works by Persian composers, but also by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Frank Zappa – and by the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra in Tehran, as well as a performance of Bach's St John Passion in Tehran by the Osnabrück Youth Choir. The “Morgenland Chamber Orchestra” has been an integral part of the Festival since 2009: German musicians, together with musicians from the guest countries and diverse soloists, rehearse works which are then performed at the opening of the Festival. Past conductors of the orchestra were Nader Mashayekhi (Iran) and Kinan Azmeh (Syria). A further integral part of the Festival is the annual exchange of students from the Music and Art School in Osnabrück and the Barenboim-Said Conservatory in Nazareth. The participating students each spend a week in the host country and rehearse a programme which is then performed at the end of the Festival.

Organisers and Patrons

The Morgenland Festival Osnabrück is a cooperation between the City of Osnabrück and the Culture Centre Lagerhalle Osnabrück (registered association). Various institutions and companies support the Morgenland Festival Osnabrück financially. Long-term patrons of the event are the Stiftung Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony Foundation), the Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung (Foundation of the Lower Saxony Savings Banks), the Sparkasse Osnabrück, Musikland Niedersachsen, the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture, NDR Musikförderung (NDR Music Patronage), the Landschaftsverband Osnabrücker Land (Regional Authority for the Rural District of Osnabrück), Sievert AG and Hinrichs Licht und Druck.

Venues

The venues vary from year to year but include:

Awards

In 2009 Michael Dreyer received the Lower Saxony Praetorius Music Award in the category “International Peace Music”.

Society of Friends of the Morgenland Festival Osnabrück (registered association)

Since 2009 the charitable organisation Society of Friends of the Festival has focused its activities towards collecting funds to finance projects relating to the Festival. They have so far produced a documentary book of photographs (2005–2009) as well as a documentary film, “Eastern Voices”, which is available as Blu-ray and DVD from EuroArts. Furthermore, the Society puts on trips to exhibitions, tours and concerts for its members.

Publications

Commissioned works

P 2005, Nabil Shehata (Double Bass), Sankha Chatterjee (Tabla), Kammerakademie Potsdam, Conductor David Geringas

P 2006, Salar Aghili, Tehran Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Nader Mashayekhi

P 2007, Saleem Abboud Ashkar (Piano), Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Conductor Frank Cramer

P 2007, Cymin Samawatie Trio

P 2008, Salar Aghili, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Conductor Frank Cramer

P 2009, Ibrahim Keivo (Voice), Morgenland Chamber Orchestra, Conductor Nader Mashayekhi

P 2010, Kinan Azmeh (Clarinet), Ibrahim Keivo (Voice), Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Hermann Bäumer

Documentations