ALL FEMALE AFGHANISTAN ORCHESTRA COMING TO SYDNEY

The Zohra All Female Orchestra’s will be touring Australia for the first time. Following their successful first international tour across Europe in 2017, the Afghanistan National Institute of Music’s Zohra Orchestra will be showcasing two major performances, one of them being at the Sydney Opera House.

Zohra’s musicians are the first women in their families, communities and country to study music in over 30 years. They come from provinces all across Afghanistan to live in Kabul and study at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, founded by Afghan-Australian Dr. Ahmad Sarmast.

Among Zohra’s ranks are the country’s first female conductors, Negin Khpalwak and Zarifa Adiba. This tour is a celebration to the Centenary of Reclamation of Afghanistan’s Independence and 50 Years of Diplomacy between Afghanistan and Australia – giving Australians the rare opportunity to witness Afghanistan’s first all-female, internationally acclaimed orchestra.

Once a hotbed of creativity, Afghanistan saw its 1,000-year-old musical heritage almost disappear overnight. Between the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, the ban on music saw the decimation of the country’s musical and cultural life. Though the ban was lifted after the Taliban were ousted, large parts of Afghan society still frown upon music.

This tour will provide Australian audiences with the opportunity to attain an extremely unique musical experience, whilst simultaneously showcasing the resilience and determination of Afghan youth and women to continue fighting for their rights and their dedication to ensuring that extremism has no place in Afghanistan. The Sydney concert will take place on Monday 14th October at 6.30pm at the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House. The performance will run for 120 minutes.