Long Distance Call
Merlijn Twaalfhoven/ La Vie sur Terre presents
Long Distance Call
100 musicians, singers and children from North and South Nicosia play large music composition across the Green Line
monday 24th of October, International UN Day
Nicosia is the stage of a massive music composition by composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven, uniting young musicians and children from the Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot communities.
More than 150 musicians, singers and children play from rooftops, balconies and in the streets along the Green Line, emphasizing the physical unity of the city. The composition is based on traditional Cypriot melodies, well-known in both parts of the island.
With this sound-wave across the barricades, the numerous participants from both sides of the green line create a unity, reflecting their similarities in a creative connection that cannot be stopped by any conflict or division.
8.00am morning call on rooftops
1.00pm noon call on rooftops
4.30pm Cypriot songs by children in the streets
5.00pm Long distance call across the Green Line
Free of charge
South Nicosia: the area at the end of Lidras street
North Nicosia: the area around Kadinlar Pasari str. and Siret Bahceli str.
[LOGO’S] US Embassy, Dutch Embassy, St Doen, UNDP, UNSAID
PRESS RELEASE date of sending 2005, Amsterdam
Music workshops and rehearsals Long Distance Call starting Monday 17th of October in Ledra Palace
For the music performance Long Distance Call on October the 24th 2005, composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven is bringing together young musicians and children from the Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot part of the island. He and the German percussionist Martin Franke will give several workshops in Ledra Palace starting from Monday the 17th of October to Sunday the 23rd of October.
During the coming week Merlijn Twaalfhoven and Martin Franke will work with professional musicians, students, choirs and children. Elements of the, specially for this event composed, music will be rehearsed, but in addition the participants will also be invited to share their cultural heritage and musical background by revealing their own styles and ideas. The fresh results of these interactive workshops will be incorporated in the final composition.
Opportunity to record (film, radio or photograph) the workshops or interview the participants and the workshop leaders is possible. Please contact the person at the bottom of this page while this can only be arranged upfront.
Background of Merlijn Twaalfhoven
As a composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven has made several price winning compositions which are played all over the world (f.e. Switzerland, Japan, Slovakia and the Netherlands)
As an artistic director and choreographer of music events Twaalfhoven has a diversity of national and international projects to his credit. Within the framework of the Dutch presidency of the EU in 2004, he organised a night of music in theatrical settings in Prague, Ljubljana, Bratislava a.o. His projects are characterized by an unusual choice of venues (Kursk; poetic music theatre in a Russian submarine) and his projects invite the audience to surrender to a total experience (La Nuit n’est pas un Chocolat; a full evening’s programme of stimulation of all senses).
Background of Martin Franke
Martin Franke is a German percussionist who studies at the conservatorium in Arnhem, The Netherlands. He has been teaching music for several years now and is trained in giving percussion workshops. He will give the workshops “instrument making” where children and university students will make their own percussion instrument out of wood, iron, car brakes and bottles and learn how to play rhythms on their own made instruments.
Cyprus Oktober 2005