This event is part of the Healing Earth Summer Celebration Series
The dramatic story of a Syrian guitar quartet escaping the ongoing destruction of the Syrian civil war for a fellowship at BC’s University of Victoria offers a remarkable message about the power of music, hope and determination. Now, the Orontes Quartet are taking their music on the road with a local appearance at Wintergreen Studios.
The classical guitar ensemble - Gaby Al Botros, Orwa Al Sharaa, Nazir Salameh and Mir Mahmoud - faced violence in Damascus where they and their families were at risk from extremist groups and often targeted.
“Music needs a clear mind, and playing music required the musician to be comfortable. But the conditions in Syria were bad to the point where no matter what you did, you weren’t able to clear your mind or think about music,” explains Al Sharaa. “It means a lot for us to be here in Canada: it’s calm, safe and beautiful, the people are kind and welcoming. It’s a perfect atmosphere to concentrate and think about music.”
About the Orontes Quartet
Formed in 2015 at the University of Notre Dame Louaize in Beirut, the ORONTES QUARTET has defied all odds to create careers as concert guitarists. While in Syria, they appeared with the Syrian Philharmonic, on Syrian MTV and Sky Arabia. They also arranged multiple concerts, some of which had to be cancelled at the last minute due to violent incursions.