Zohra Orchestra

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The orchestra performing in a joint concert with the Orchestra of St John's at Lancaster House, London, in 2019[1]

The Zohra Orchestra (also known as the Afghan Women's Orchestra and Ensemble Zohra) is Afghanistan’s first all-female orchestra, named after the music goddess in Persian writings.[2][3] It was formed in 2015 in Kabul by the Afghanistan National Institute of Music and its founder Dr Ahmad Sarmast, itself formed in 2008 with the goal of bringing a musical education to young Afghans in the wake of liberation from the Taliban, under whom women’s rights were severely curtailed.[4] The orchestra performs traditional Afghan music, as well as Western classical music,[5] and has received numerous awards, including the Queen Soraya Award and the Freemuse Award in 2017, and the Montluc Resistance Liberte Award in 2018.[3]

Tours[]

The Zohra Orchestra has completed several high-profile tours since 2017. They have performed at the World Economic Forum and toured the United Kingdom in 2019, visiting the British Museum in London and the University of Oxford.[4]

2019 Tour of Australia[]

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Afghan independence in 2019, the Zohra Orchestra visited Australia on tour. On the 12th and 14th of October 2019, the Orchestra performed concerts in Sydney and Melbourne. The first was held at Monash University, and the second at Sydney Opera House with over 1 500 guests in attendance. The event was co-organised by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Australian government to concurrently celebrate 50 years of official diplomatic relations between the two countries.[3]

2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan[]

After the 2021 seizure of Kabul by the Taliban, the school building of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (the orchestra's parent organization) was turned into a base by the Haqqani network guerrilla group. Many instruments were destroyed on the orders of the Taliban, which forbids instrumental and non-religious singing. Some women and girls from the orchestra were able to leave Afghanistan thanks to the Qatari government, but most have been unable to leave.[6][7] About 100 students and teachers of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music are temporarily in Qatar before they leave to go to Portugal.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ "Afghan Women's Orchestra Residency March 2019" (PDF). Orchestra of St John's. Monday 18 March Lancaster House, London (invitation only)
  2. ^ "All-Female Orchestra From Afghanistan Is A Force For Change". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  3. ^ a b c Canberra, Afghan Embassy-. "Afghanistan's Zohra Orchestra Attracted thousands of Visitors in Australia - EMBASSY OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN CANBERRA - AUSTRALIA". www.canberra.mfa.af. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  4. ^ a b Dowd, Vincent (2019-03-15). "Meet Afghanistan's first all-female orchestra". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  5. ^ "Zohra Orchestra: All-Female Ensemble of Afghanistan - IDEAS". www.ideas.org.au. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  6. ^ Raghavan, Sudarsan. "After the Taliban seized their school, Afghanistan's all-female orchestra tried to flee. Only some escaped". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  7. ^ Zemaryalai, Parniyan; Geddie, John (3 September 2021). "The day the music died: Afghanistan's all-female orchestra falls silent". Reuters. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Afghan all-female orchestra keeps music alive in exile". France 24. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
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