Courtesy of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra
Diyar Jamal, bassist, and Lawan Ali, violinist
Two new members of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, from left: Diyar Jamal, bassist, and Lawan Ali, violinist. They both come from the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
It’s Saturday afternoon, and onstage at Powell Symphony Hall, 100 youth musicians rehearse for their upcoming November concert. Bass cases line the stage, and backpacks and other personal belongings are scattered throughout the auditorium in the same haphazard way they’re thrown about in high school classrooms.
The musicians begin playing, and the notes of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 fill Powell Hall. It’s easy to forget it’s not an actual performance, and that there are only three people in the audience. But then the conductor stops and says something that evokes laughter onstage. He sings the melody back to the musicians, and they try again.
The St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra (SLSYO) is composed of the bi-state region’s finest musicians between the ages of 12 and 22. This year, however, it also includes Diyar Jamal, 20, and Lawan Taha Hama Ali, 22, two musicians from the semiautonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, once occupied by ISIS. Their first performance will be November 18 at 3 p.m.
Courtesy of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra
St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra group shot
From left, bottom row: Bassist Diyar Jamal, violinist Lawan Ali, and interim youth orchestra manager Joseph Hendricks. From left, top row: American Voices' Spencer Dunlap and Alan Alyas.
Coming to America
Jamal, a bassist, and violinist Ali’s involvement with the SLSYO is the result of a partnership between St. Louis Symphony, Saint Louis University, and the Association of American Voices, an organization that promotes cultural exchange through the performing arts in nations emerging from conflict. St. Louis is the only host city for this program.
For the past 12 years, American Voices has hosted YES Academy, a summer music camp, in Kurdistan. “Good-quality music instruction is hard to come by in that region of the world, and there are no camps,” says Alan Alyas, the Association of American Voices program manager.
Ali learned about YES Academy through other musicians in his home city, Sulaymaniyah. “It’s such a small country and musicians in the city know each other, and they recommend good things for each other,” says Ali with the help of Alyas, who translates parts of the interview and is also from Sulaymaniyah.
There’s a shared “suffering” that musicians experience. “We don’t have sheet music or good teachers, so an opportunity like YES Academy comes around, everybody wants to be a part of it,” says Ali, who has been participating in the Academy since 2013.
Jamal wanted to play an instrument in 2011 but had to first persuade his family. “There isn’t much importance to music in some families, especially in that region of the world,” he says.
In 2013, he finally won the argument. “He was very persistent,” says Alyas.
Jamal had a bass teacher for one year at school but has been mostly self-taught. “I watched a lot of YouTube videos,” he laughs. He learned about the Academy from his peers at school but didn’t participate until 2016, when Yes Academy took place in his hometown, Erbil.
It was through their participation in the YES Academy that Jamal and Ali were identified for the opportunity in St. Louis. Both musicians participated in several interviews to determine if they were a good fit for the program. Then they began the visa process, and, to their relief, the visas arrived shortly after their interviews.
Courtesy of St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra
Lawan Ali violin player
Violinist Lawan Ali at Powell Hall.
Transitioning from life in Kurdistan to St. Louis
The partnership between the American Voices, SLU, and SLSYO began in 2009–2010, and they have been welcoming two and sometimes three students every year since, with the exception of the past two years when they were unable to obtain visas. The decision to host this year wasn’t made until late May.
Alan Alyas was one of those first students and has called St. Louis home ever since. He maintains a close relationship with the SLSO staff and now works closely with Ali and Jamal as the program manager.
Does he feel like their big brother?
Alyas laughs and nods his head. “I’m like their dad,” he says. “I was the first one to go through the program, so I know their fears, their pain, and their excitement at the same time. So it’s easy for me to help them.”
Before coming to St. Louis, Jamal used to practice bass from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day. There was a lot of repetition in his days: “I would wake up in the morning, go to school and practices, and then I would go to work until midnight. The next day, I would repeat the whole thing again.”
Adds Ali: “Life is not easy for a musician back home. With the lack of accessibility to much needed instruments, sheet music, and teachers, a musician will have to work hard to achieve his or her dreams.”
Now he and Ali have to balance practicing with their ESL and music classes at SLU. Ali has also begun private violin lessons with a teacher from UMSL.
“They have a very busy schedule, but that’s what it’s about,” Alyas says. But even with their hectic schedules, they have found time to take Lime scooters to the Arch.
Life in St. Louis is an adjustment, but because of their participation in the ESL program, Jamal and Ali live among other ESL students at SLU.
“We ask a lot of the questions about each other’s cultures, and we tell them about our culture,” says Ali. “A lot of the questions revolve around language. How do you say this word in your language? It’s fun in class because the only common language is English.”
Food has also taken some getting used to. Ali says there have been days where he’s only eaten salads and fruit because everything is “too spicy.” Jamal has found that he likes chicken and potatoes.
“When it comes to food, it’s very hard to adjust,” Alyas says. “I’ve been here for 10 years, and I’m still working on it. There are a lot of foods that are a little bit foreign for me. It takes a while to adjust. I have decided not to introduce them to all of them yet.”
Both Jamal and Ali are grateful for their experiences with American Voices. Ali credits the program for his improved quality of playing. He was named concertmaster after auditioning for the Academy two years in a row. “Seeing players who are better than you is always inspiring, and playing in the orchestra is unbelievable,” he says.
“I still don’t believe I’m here playing with these musicians in this beautiful place,” says Jamal.
Ali hopes to finish his degree here, but ultimately, they both hope to return home to play in an orchestra and teach.
If their experience is anything like Alyas’, it will be life-changing.
“I never thought coming to the United States was a possibility until American Voices,” Alyas says. “That first year here was just unbelievable. There was a lot of adjustment but a lot of excitement and a lot of learning. That’s why I decided to stay.”
