A packed concert hall in Geneva witnessed concert master Marjan Fidaee receive the 2017 Freemuse Award on behalf of Zohra, the Afghan Women’s Orchestra, on 25 January 2017.
In her acceptance speech Marjan Fidaee said, “The award was not only for the Zohra orchestra but for all Afghanistan.”
Dr Ahmad Sarmast, founder of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIMA), emphasised the importance of an international award of recognition and acknowledgment to the orchestra Zohra. He said:
“The award given to the brave and courageous young women of the orchestra, can inspire young women in Afghanistan to play music and take part in cultural life.”
The orchestra consisting of 30 young women from ANIMA received the Freemuse Award at a ceremony before a sold out concert at the Centre des Arts in Geneva, Switzerland.
The award, a statue and a check of €1.000 euro, was given to Zohra by Freemuse co-founder Marie Korpe.
The Afghanistan National Institute of Music was inaugurated in 2010. It is the country’s only post-Taliban music school working to reverse the damage done by over three decades of war not only by reviving, preserving and transmitting Afghanistan’s musical traditions to the younger generation but by ensuring that Afghan women has a strong voice in the cultural fabric of the country.
Hør koncertmester Marjan Fidaee takke for prisen på vegne af hele orkestret.
På Freemuses hjemmeside kan du finde links til afghanske mediers omtale af prisen.
