Biologist Tahani Abdul Wahid smiles as she settles into a worn green chair and waits for the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra to take to the stage.
The audience erupts in applause when the conductor arrives and quickly falls silent as the first notes are struck at the Saturday concert in Baghdad’s green zone — an area fortified by concrete walls against suicide bombers and rocket attacks.
Some had not heard live classical music in years.
“This is the first time I have attended a concert since 2003,” 44-year-old Wahid said. “I used to go to a lot of them before 2003. It feels like I have entered a different atmosphere and a different world.”
Overall violence has dropped in Iraq in the past years, allowing the war-torn country — once regarded as the cultural gem of the Middle East — to witness a slow revival of its arts scene.
Yet, bombings and killings remain a daily occurrence. An election in March, which produced no outright winner, has raised fears of a renewal in fighting.
The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra (INSO), established in 1948, came close to collapse after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, but it survived.
The number of musicians employed by the orchestra has now grown to 90 from 52 in 2005, including the first US female violinist to be part of it on a full-time basis. It hopes to add more as exiled musicians return to Iraq after decades of war.
Accompanied by 13-year-old US guest pianist and composer Llewellyn Kingman Sanchez Werner, the orchestra hopes to embark on a national tour this year — and visit Europe and the US next year.
On Saturday, its performance at the Rasheed Hotel was met with a standing ovation by an audience of about 250 people.
Sixteen-year-old student Tuqa Sa’ad, who plays the cello for the orchestra, is ecstatic at the changes that have taken place since she joined the orchestra in 2006.
“I started playing for the INSO when I was very young. It was very difficult then to the extent that I could not take my musical instrument from the rehearsal venue to my home and vice versa due to bad security,” she said.
“Now things are so normal, I can take my instrument anywhere I want,” she said, while proudly patting her cello.
“I believe I can achieve something and help my country develop, and also support other girls and be an icon for them,” she said.
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