Cultures in Harmony enjoys a longer and deeper relationship with Tunisia than with any other country, first visiting in 2005, and returning each year. Particularly given the January 2011 revolution, we are profoundly committed to our work in Tunisia. The joyous and respectful friendships between individual Tunisians and Americans, facilitated by the universal language of music, offer the best guide towards how our governments and societies should interact going forward. CiH leads an extremely popular series of workshops for young violinists, cellists, and pianists. We worked with ASCM to organize the workshops until 2011, when we began working with Atlas Music Academy, founded by Salah Hannachi (former Tunisian Ambassador to Japan) and directed by Yosr Zayati, whose assistant director is Hanen Rahoui.
In 2008, we worked with the English Language Village, an intensive program where Tunisian students can learn English. Concerts and dialogue there were a highlight of our 2008 and 2009 projects. In 2009, our musicians recorded with oud and kanun virtuosi Amine and Hamza M’raihi. CiH Musicians also gave a memorable open-air performance for over a thousand people at the ancient Roman coliseum in El Jem. In 2015, as part of our 10th anniversary celebration, the Passacaglia Project, we helped young Tunisian musicians compose their own passacaglia.
Other venues at which we have performed during our annual projects in Tunisia include the Acropolium in Carthage, Tunis Cultural Centre, the Institut Superieur de Musique, Hammamet Cultural Center, and the Palais Ennejma Ezzahra. In 2005, we collaborated with the Tunisian Ministry of Health to give an anti-smoking concert. Our projects in Tunisia have been funded by various organizations including the US Embassy in Tunis and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.
Pictures from recent workshops
The most frequent leader of our delegation to Tunisia has been Deputy Director Kimball Gallagher, a pianist, guitarist, and composer; in 2018, Shoshana Gottesman (who has worked with us for several years as a viola teacher) took over as Deputy Director. Other musicians who have gone to Tunisia with us include:
- Violin: Francesca Anderegg, Christina Castelli, Sarah Crocker, William Harvey, Zoe Martin-Doike, Joel Schut, Colleen Wang, Yezu Woo, Sarah Wood
- Viola: Shoshana Gottesman, Lilian Belknap, Kayleigh Miller
- Cello: Patrick McGuire, Robin Ryczek
- Guitar: Vova Kuperman, Patrick Sutton
- Piano: Alexander Rowney, Anya Yermakova
- Flute: Allie Deaver-Petchenik
- Voice: Hanan Aseelah Davis, Tiffany DuMouchelle, Tamara Jafar, Brace Negron
