Brown to Host Daniel Barenboim, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

World-renowned conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim and the young musicians of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra will visit Brown University from Thursday, Dec. 14, through Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006, for a series of conversations and workshops leading to a concert at VMA Arts and Cultural Center Saturday afternoon. All events are open to the public. A ticket is required for the concert, free of charge.

Brown University will host internationally acclaimed conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim and the young musicians of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra from Thursday, Dec. 14, through Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006. The group will participate in a series of conversations and workshops leading to a concert at VMA Arts and Cultural Center in Providence at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006, featuring works by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.

All events are open to the public, but tickets are required for admission to the final concert, free of charge. Tickets are available at the Office of University Events, 71 George St., from Monday, Dec. 4, through Wednesday, Dec. 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Community groups interested in reserving blocks of seats, or anyone needing further information, should call the ticket hotline at (401) 863-1055.

On the evenings of Dec. 14 and 15, Barenboim, members of the orchestra, and distinguished guests will lead two open "campus conversations" about the history of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and their musical, political, and cultural work. Thursday's session will open with a working rehearsal, featuring Barenboim and the Brown University Orchestra. Friday's session will begin with a special performance by members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and the Providence Quartet.

Barenboim's career has spanned more than 50 years, during which he has been honored for both his virtuosity as a musician and his work toward peace in the Middle East. Together with the late Palestinian scholar Edward Said, he founded the West-Eastern Divan Workshop in 1999, with the aim of combining musical study and development with the sharing of knowledge and comprehension between people from cultures that have traditionally been rivals. The project unites young musicians from Israel and Arab countries each summer to play music together and enable a dialogue between the various cultures.

The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra's history is depicted in an International Emmy Award-winning documentary, Knowledge is the Beginning, which will be shown on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006, at 8 p.m. in Smith-Buonanno Hall. Mariam Said, widow of Edward Said, will participate in a discussion following the film.

"Daniel Barenboim may be the world's most distinguished living classical musician, but even more than that, he is a citizen of the world and a profoundly committed teacher," said Michael Steinberg, director of the Cogut Center for the Humanities, which is sponsoring the events along with the Office of the President.

"Through music and most specifically through the achievements of the West-Eastern Divan, Barenboim has found a way to fuse music-making with the production of knowledge and understanding of some of the most severe and most pressing issues of our time," Steinberg said. "These issues, and the intersection of politics and the arts, are central to the work of a great university. The opportunity to welcome, host, and engage with Daniel Barenboim and the hundred members of this unique orchestra speaks to Brown's mission and strengths with unparalleled rigor and richness."

By Brown University