Galilee Strings Featuring Mohannad Nasser & Mevan Younes

In December 2020, during the second Corona lockdown, almost all live  concerts were cancelled, including a long-planned tour of the USA, which  would have taken the Galilee Chamber Orchestra to venues such as the  New York Carnegie Hall. Looking back, Saleem Ashkar, the renowned  pianist and head of the Galilee Strings said, “We were disappointed and  frustrated. But at the same time we had this incredible craving to make  music. It just so happened that some of our musicians had recently moved  to Berlin. So we met, rehearsed and performed Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat  Mater’ in the wonderful, completely empty Sophienkirche in Berlin. That  was a very emotional beginning for Galilee Strings. In the meantime we  now jokingly call this formation our ‘Quarantine Ensemble’.” With their  conductor Ashkar the string ensemble will play works by the Syrian  composers Mohannad Nasser, Mevan Younes and Kareem Rousto, as well as  Mozart’s A major Piano Concerto KV 414 in a chamber music-like setting.  The final work of the programme is Peter Tchaikovsky’s brilliant String  Serenade op. 48.