The Morgenland Festival Osnabrück is a German music festival that has taken place since 2005 at various venues in Osnabrück, Germany. The 10-day event interchanges with a 4 day intermezzo in years with an odd number. Apart from musical performances of traditional and contemporary music from the wider Middle Eastern region, other art genres, such as the visual arts, dance and theatre or interdisciplinary projects, have also been part of the festival programme.
History
The festival first took place in 2005. Michael Dreyer, initiator and founder of the festival, is still its Artistic Director. It is committed to challenging traditional perceptions of the “Orient”. For this, it offers the participating artists time and space, in which they can realize their projects. The musical programme is therefore not imported as a finished product, but is mostly developed on site. Apart from renowned artists such as Alim Qasimov, Kayhan Kalhor, Jivan Gasparyan, the NDR Bigband or Salman Gambarov, many artists who were hitherto unknown in the West from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Xinjiang or Turkey have performed at the festival. Highlights of the festival have included guest performances by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra - with works by Persian composers, but also by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Frank Zappa – and by the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra in Tehran, as well as a performance of Bach's St John Passion in Tehran by the Osnabrück Youth Choir. The “Morgenland Chamber Orchestra” has been an integral part of the Festival since 2009: German musicians, together with musicians from the guest countries and diverse soloists, rehearse works which are then performed at the opening of the festival. Past conductors of the orchestra were Nader Mashayekhi and Kinan Azmeh. A further integral part of the festival is the annual exchange of students from the Music and Art School in Osnabrück and the Barenboim-Said Conservatory in Nazareth. The participating students each spend a week in the host country and rehearse a programme, which is then performed at the end of the festival.
Organisers and Patrons
The Morgenland Festival Osnabrück is a cooperation between the City of Osnabrück and the Culture Centre Lagerhalle Osnabrück. Various institutions and companies support the Morgenland Festival Osnabrück financially. Long-term patrons of the event are the Stiftung Niedersachsen, the Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung, the Sparkasse Osnabrück, Musikland Niedersachsen, the Lower SaxonyMinistry of Science and Culture, NDR Musikförderung, the Landschaftsverband Osnabrücker Land, Sievert AG and Hinrichs Licht und Druck.
Venues
The venues vary from year to year, and have included:
Since 2009, the charitable organisationSociety of Friends of the Morgenland Festival has focused its activities towards collecting funds to finance projects relating to the Festival. They have so far produced a documentary book of photographs as well as a documentary film, “Eastern Voices”, which is available as Blu-ray and DVD from EuroArts. Furthermore, the Society organizes trips to exhibitions, tours and concerts for its members.
Publications
2009 Yulduz Turdieva - The rising star of the East
