Music weaves its way through international affairs

This week the Pharos Arts Foundation is celebrating the power of music in times of war with a number of events, including the lecture Music and Diplomacy by Founder and President of EMMA for Peace (European Mediterranean Music Academy) Paolo Petrocelli on Friday.

Petrocelli will examine the effectiveness of this art form in international affairs, global development and social justice.

As a Music Diplomacy Ambassador, Petrocelli serves in institutional roles to forge bonds through music in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the US. In 2012 he founded EMMA for Peace, a non-profit organisation for music diplomacy and education.

EMMA for Peace brings together music institutions, universities and philanthropic foundations interested in music and the promotion of peace in the Mediterranean and Middle East regions. World-renowned artists have joined EMMA to help music become an instrument of understanding, awareness and collaboration toward a peaceful future. Celebrated Italian conductor Riccardo Muti acts as the organisation’s Honorary President. EMMA’s goal is to create a dialogue platform and to share musical excellence among international musicians of the highest level and students and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds across Europe and the Middle East. It uses music as a tool for peace in places torn apart by war, bringing the best talent from the world’s concert halls and academies to refugee camps and other deprived areas where music education is otherwise inaccessible.

The lecture, in English, will last approximately one hour and is part of the Pharos Arts Foundation’s project Music in Tempore Belli, which will include a concert by Ergon Ensemble on Thursday, featuring works inspired by war.

Music and Diplomacy
The Pharos Foundation presents a lecture by the founder and president of EMMA for peace Paolo Petrocelli. November 13. The Shoe Factory, Nicosia. 7.30pm. Free. Tel: 22-663871

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