- Title: SYRIA: Damascus hosts concert in honour of Spain's EU presidency
- Date: 24th January 2010
- Summary: SPANISH SOPRANO MARIA LLUISA MUNTADA TALKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPANISH SOPRANO MARIA LLUISA MUNTADA SAYING: "For me it's a pleasure to be here and to work with them. I know they are doing a hard job -- it's a lot of music that they don't know, but I'm sure after this they'll be happy to perform it again, I hope so. It's very interesting to see how they st
- Embargoed: 8th February 2010 12:00
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- Reuters ID: LVABM5X118CNJ0OOIUQTUJFQHYUL
- Story Text: Damascus hosts a concert to celebrate Spain's presidency of the European Union (EU) for the first half of 2010.
On the occasion of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union (EU) for the first half of 2010, the Spanish Embassy in Syria organized a musical night in the Syrian Opera House in Damascus on Tuesday (January 19).
More than 60 musicians from the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra shared the stage alongside Spanish musicians and were conducted by Spanish Maestro Edmon Colomer.
Soprano Maria Lluisa Muntada of Spain said she enjoyed the experience of working alongside her Syrian counterparts.
"For me it's a pleasure to be here and to work with them. I know they are doing a hard job -- it's a lot of music that they don't know, but I'm sure after this they'll be happy to perform it again, I hope so," Muntada said.
The concert was not the first time the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra co-operated with western musicians.
Founded in 1993, the orchestra has performed in many Arab and western countries, including Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Germany, Italy and the United States of America.
Syrian Clarinet player Manar al-Shamaa said musical exchange is necessary as it allows musicians from different backgrounds to exchange their cultural and musical experiences.
"They take whatever elements we have in our heritage while we learn further details about their heritage. We are an Arabic country and oriental music is part of our heritage. We are not playing music from our country, but we are playing music from their country. They show us the kind of details that we may not notice because we are oriental, so this is the significance of this exchange -- so we can learn the details of their music and they can learn the details of ours," al-Shamaa said.
Spain received the EU presidency for the first six months of 2010. The two countries have a history of good political, economic and cultural relations. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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