Jerusalem International Oud Festival

What it is

The Jerusalem International Oud Festival is a music festival devoted to the oud. It takes its name from Jerusalem, where it was first held, and it has a second edition in Tel Aviv. The programme is built around players of the instrument, with concerts of new compositions and familiar pieces from around the Mediterranean. Room is also made for special projects that put the oud at the centre. The event has won wide recognition among local audiences, and each year it brings together performers from across the country and from further afield.

How it began

Eli Grunfeld, a producer who also directed the festival's music, started the event in Jerusalem in 2000. Three years later he set up a companion edition in Tel Aviv and staged it at the Tzavta theatre. That second festival became a yearly fixture each August. Over time it won a strong reputation among local audiences and musicians. The Jerusalem gathering gave the project its name and its first home. The Tel Aviv edition gave it a steady yearly pattern and a wider platform for the instrument's players.

The Tel Aviv edition

Each August the Tel Aviv festival returns to the Tzavta theatre. Its concerts mix original compositions by oud players with pieces long known around the Mediterranean. New performers are given a chance to make a debut, and the programme regularly includes special projects built around the instrument. The line-up each year draws on leading musicians working in the country, and audiences have received it well. Oud soloists who have appeared include Ara Dinkjian, Yair Dalal, Nizar Rduan, Darvish Darvish and Wasim Ouda. Singers such as Zehava Ben, Lubna Salame, Shlomo Bar and Kobi Oz have taken part in the festival's special productions.

The oud on stage

The festival is arranged around the oud rather than around a single songwriter or band. That lets established soloists present new work and lets other musicians share the same stage. The programme also makes room for debut performances, so newer players appear beside well-known names. For listeners, the August dates at the Tzavta theatre have become a regular point in the year. The Jerusalem festival, begun in 2000, remains the project's starting point and the source of its name.

How Jerusalem International Oud Festival is kept

The event is a concert series rather than a procession or a rite. A producer and musical director shape the programme. Oud soloists perform, some playing their own compositions and others playing pieces long known around the Mediterranean. Debut performances are included, and special productions bring singers and other artists together with the instrumentalists. The Tel Aviv edition runs each August at the Tzavta theatre and draws audiences from the city and beyond. The Jerusalem festival, held from 2000, was the first version of the event and gave the project its name.

When and where

The Tel Aviv edition is held every year in August. The first Jerusalem festival began in 2000, and the Tel Aviv companion was started in 2003. The sources give no fixed date inside August and no month for the Jerusalem edition.

The festival belongs to Israel and has been held in two of its cities. It began in Jerusalem in 2000 and was extended to Tel Aviv in 2003, where it is staged at the Tzavta theatre. Most accounts of the event concern the Tel Aviv edition, which has the longer list of performers attached to it.

What Jerusalem International Oud Festival means

For the musicians and listeners who take part, the festival treats the oud as a living instrument rather than a museum piece. Pairing new compositions with familiar Mediterranean pieces, and giving space to debut performances, keeps the repertoire in motion. The event also puts oud players and singers on the same stage, so that different strands of the region's music meet in one programme.

Questions people ask about Jerusalem International Oud Festival

See also

Andalusi classical musicA classical suite of vocal and instrumental music shared across North AfricaJerusalem Film FestivalTen summer days of films from around the world, held in Jerusalem since 1984HoraA circle dance from Southeast Europe, danced at weddings and festivalsPalestine Festival of LiteratureAn annual touring literary gathering staging free bilingual readings across Palestine

Good reading and sources

• Jerusalem International Oud Festival on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

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