On 17 October H. E. Mrs. Zakia El Midaoui, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Republic of Bulgaria, and New Symphony Orchestra organized a special musical evening at the Moroccan Residence.
The reason? Season 2018/2019 passes under the patronage of Her Excellency. The Moroccan ambassador opened the evening with a welcome address to the many guests who came to attend the event.
As the patron of the New Symphony Orchestra, it is an honor for me to welcome all of you to the Moroccan Residence in Sofia to celebrate friendship through music, which is the universal language and contributes to the rapprochement between peoples and countries, and to the promotion of tolerance, sharing, and cohabitation between societies in total respect of cultural and religious differences.
I am sure that we will spend good time together in the company of the musicians from the New Symphony Orchestra, founded by the music critic Ms. Julia Hristova in 1991 as an alternative to the existing musical institutions financially supported and controlled by the State. During the years since it was founded the New Symphony Orchestra has produced a cultural model of its own and has created a Society of friends, dedicated to the welfare of this cultural institution, which is unique in Bulgaria. Julia Hristova's Concert House, opened in 1990, served as a basis on which the Orchestra was founded. This House had its own system of organizing and financing the orchestra and working with its young musicians. According to the words of its founder, Julia Hristova, "We worked not to survive but to create."
From the very beginning, the idea of the New Symphony Orchestra was to be both a school and an institution taking care of young, talented musicians who had no experience on the stages of concert halls, but who had the strong desire to work and perfect them-selves. Over eight hundred (800) musicians of an average age between 18 and 27 have played for the Orchestra. Musicians from the School of the New Symphony Orchestra are now members of the biggest Bulgarian orchestral institutions and opera houses, and of orchestras in the USA, Latin America, Western and Central Europe. The leading principles in the work with the young musicians, most of whom are still students, is respect for one's personal opinions, equal opportunities and flexibility in the system of work. According to Julia Hristova "The most important goal in our work is not the concert, but one's love in the process of 'making' music".
Julia Hristova, founder of the orchestra and musical critic also greeted the guests. Later hen the musicians of New Symphony Orchestra captivated us with their pleasant music.
A surprise for the evening was the participation of a group of young Palestinian dancers from Ramallah who came to Bulgaria to participate in the International Festival of Crafts and Arts in Troyan and the Tikva Festival in Sevlievo. It became possible thanks to the cooperation of the doyen of the diplomatic corps in Bulgaria – H. E. Dr. Ahmed Al Madbuh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Palestine. The dancers were so enthusiastic that they made the guests dancing.
At the end of the evening, everyone enjoyed the ceremony of serving Moroccan mint tea with sweets as well as typical Moroccan dishes.
View the embedded image gallery online at:
http://www.diplomaticspectrum.com/en/bulgaria/culture/1245-the-ambassador-of-the-kingdom-of-morocco-honorary-patron-of-the-new-symphony-orchestra.html#sigFreeIded97a4a599 |
Photos: Diplomatic Spectrum
Above: Performance of the New Symphony Orchestra
Below: H. E. Mrs. Zakia El Midaoui, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Republic of Bulgaria, welcomes the guests; dance of the ensemble from Ramallah; photo of all guests